Rise in Additional Health Insurance Premiums Documented
In a bid to address the funding gap of around 16 billion euros expected in statutory health insurance for 2021, caused by lower revenues and higher health spending due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the German federal government has announced plans to increase health insurance contributions.
According to recent reports, Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) have agreed on this increase, which is planned to rise by 0.2 percentage points to 1.3 percent. The average health insurance contribution rate as of recent data stands at 14.6%, split equally between employees and employers.
To cover the remaining gap, approximately three billion euros, the additional contribution is set to increase. If the additional contribution for childless people in long-term care insurance is included, the actual burden for 2021 is projected to reach 40.2 percent.
Scholz is reportedly providing five billion euros from federal funds to cover some of the gap, while Spahn wants to withdraw another eight billion euros from the reserves of the health insurance funds to help cover the remaining gap.
The increase in health insurance contributions is expected to cause an increase in overall social security contributions, which are already nearing the upper limit of 40 percent set by the federal government for the COVID-19 crisis. After the increase, the total social security contributions will almost reach this limit.
While the search results do not provide specific information about projected increases in additional health insurance contributions in Germany for 2021, they offer insights into the general structure of health insurance contributions and recent changes in related areas. The system remains based on income, with contributions based on income up to a certain ceiling.
For more detailed information on changes in 2021, it would be necessary to consult specific reports or updates from that year. However, the general structure of health insurance contributions in Germany remains based on income and does not indicate significant changes or increases specifically for 2021 in the available information.
In the pursuit of addressing the remaining funding gap, the German government is exploring the allocation of funds from other sources, such as seizing reserves from the health insurance funds (Spahn) or allocating funds from federal reserves (Scholz). To supplement these efforts, the government may also consider expanding the scope of health insurance coverage to encompass areas like science, health-and-wellness, therapies-and-treatments, and nutrition, which could help manage costs in the longer term.
