“Junky demands in health policy”

14.02.2012 17:10

Federal Health Minister Daniel Bahr has called on the statutory health insurance companies to refund contributions to the insured in view of their billions in surplus. However, from the perspective of the citizens' initiative for health DGVP eV, the minister's demand has no factual basis.

“Health Minister Bahr’s ideas fit into the carnival season. Every reasonably informed health expert is aware that the financial resources of the statutory health insurance companies are not sufficient in the short, medium and long term to meet the increasing demands of the population in terms of care, treatment and support," criticizes the President of the DGVP Health Citizens' Initiative , Wolfram-Arnim Candidus. “The Health Minister’s demands have not been thoroughly thought through and only lead to disadvantages.” The existing surplus would be unnecessarily reduced in whole or in part. The money will then be missing again in the future.

Bahr himself describes the reimbursement of contributions to the insured as a possible competitive advantage for individual statutory health insurance companies. “But this quickly leads to a competition of service rationing for the insured,” warns Candidus. “At the same time, practitioners could be put under renewed pressure on costs and performance. This allows the respective health insurance company to save a financial cushion. What is presented as an advantage for the insured in competition becomes his real disadvantage.”

According to Candidus, there will be no reductions in contributions that do not also result in a reduction in benefits. “Anyone who tells something different is lying to the citizen!” says Candidus.