Hoyer: Current financial results do not suggest any relief with regard to 2022
12.08.2021 12:42
"The AOK community closed the first half of 2021 with a deficit of 1.6 billion euros. There was an increase of 5.6 percent in expenditure. If you only look at the second quarter of 2021 in isolation, the Increase compared to the same period last year of almost 10 percent," explains Jens Martin Hoyer, deputy chairman of the AOK federal association.
This development can be explained by the fact that there was a sharp drop in the use of services in many care areas in the second quarter of 2020 as a result of the first wave of the pandemic. After the decline in treatments and operations in the first quarter had a positive impact on the financial results of the health insurance companies, this trend is now reversing again: a normalization of performance activities will lead to double-digit rates of change in the isolated second quarter of 2021, said Hoyer.
Looking into the future, Hoyer also describes the fears for the coming year: “Even in the second half of 2021, no relief is expected in view of the expected structural deficit of the statutory health insurance in the coming year. The AOK community alone expects a deficit of well over four billion euros at the end of 2021, because there are signs of a significant increase in benefit spending in the second half of 2021. In addition to the further normalization of benefits, for example, the high level of settlements resulting from the nationwide arbitration proceedings in the field of medicinal products will impact the financial results of the health insurance funds and lead to negative results.
The loss of relief due to the renewed increase in VAT will be clearly noticeable in pharmaceutical expenditure. Added to this is the forced reduction in assets of the health insurance companies.
The deputy federal chairman of the AOK sees an additional aggravation of the situation in the current remuneration negotiations with additional demands amounting to billions between the medical profession and the hospitals. Addressing the negotiating partners, Hoyer makes it clear: “The funds are rejecting them due to the tense financial situation and with regard to the stability of the contribution rate.”
Even without these additional burdens, the AOK is expecting a GKV deficit next year - especially due to the expensive laws of recent years - that will significantly exceed the additional federal subsidy of 7 billion euros. At the same time, politicians have promised to limit the average additional contribution rate to 1.3 percent. Hoyer's conclusion: “In order to keep this promise, the grand coalition must determine the amount of the additional federal subsidy for 2022 before the election by issuing a legal ordinance based on the half-year results now available and the deficit forecast. Otherwise, there is a risk of contribution rate increases across the board by the turn of the year at the latest.”