Steepincrease observed in health insurance expenses

Oliver Blatt, the chairman of the GKV association, has expressed concerns about the current dynamic expenditure development in the health insurance sector and has proposed an expenditure moratorium to limit the rise in healthcare costs without cutting benefits.

Blatt believes that these reforms could lead to faster doctor's appointments for insured persons. He emphasized focusing on structural reform in hospitals and pricing negotiations for new drugs rather than tariff discussions. Additionally, he called for tying spending increases for outpatient services, hospitals, and pharmaceuticals strictly to revenues to avoid contribution rate hikes.

The proposal comes after a surplus of 1.8 billion euros was achieved by the end of March, following record deficits in an unspecified year. However, Blatt warned that such high increase rates in expenditure cannot be sustained in the long run by any healthcare system.

The surplus is urgently needed to replenish the statutory minimum reserves of the insurers, which have been depleting in recent years. Blatt also demanded federal budget support and clear cabinet decisions to stop further contribution increases.

In the first half of the year, the statutory health insurers spent approximately 166.1 billion euros. Expenditure for hospital treatments increased by 9.6% to 54.5 billion euros, while expenditure for pharmaceuticals increased by 6% to 28.9 billion euros. Expenditure for doctors increased by 7.8% to 27.0 billion euros.

Despite the proposed expenditure moratorium, Blatt did not provide any details about how it would be implemented. He did not mention any specific plans for the structural reforms he proposed either.

Blatt's aim in the long term is to prevent the gap between expenditure and income from widening further and to achieve stable finances for the health insurance system. He stated that the expenditure dynamic in the first half of the year remains unabated and emphasized the need for immediate action.

Federal Minister of Health Nina Warken will discuss the financial development of statutory health insurance in the first half of the year on Friday. Oliver Blatt's call for an expenditure moratorium and structural reforms to improve efficiency and reduce expenditures is expected to be a key topic in the discussion.