Anticipated Financial Burden from Health Insurance Premiums Could Spike
A new research indicates a surge in social contributions, specifically focusing on statutory health insurance and pension insurance, according to a study done by the German Press Agency, made available to Deutsche Presse-Agentur. The study predicts a steep rise in social contributions in Germany over the next few years. By 2035, total contributions from various insurance sectors might jump by 7.5 percentage points to 48.6%. The Berlin IGES Institute, representing DAK-Gesundheit, calculated the contribution growth for pension, health, care, and unemployment insurance based on existing assumptions.
The researchers considered average values for factors affecting contributions, such as birth rate, life expectancy, migration, and wage development. They also provided deviations in contributions for optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. DAK Board Chairman, Andreas Storm, urged politics to tackle the issue effectively and prevent a contribution explosion.
Storm stated that it's unlikely to hold social contributions at the previously pledged political pledges of 40%. In statutory health insurance itself, there's predicted to be a significant jump in contributions from 16.3% to 19.3% within the next ten years.
Suggestions from the Health Chief
The Health Chief proposed a stability pact for statutory health insurance. The health funds' costs for insuring individuals on social welfare from the government should be covered through federal subsidies. The annual federal subsidy for statutory health insurance should increase, according to the Health Chief. Moreover, he suggested linking the expenses of statutory health insurance funds to the average development of taxable income. This would act as a "dynamic expenditure cap," according to the Health Chief.
In care insurance, the contribution rate could rise by 0.7 percentage points by 2030. In unemployment insurance, the contribution rate is expected to fall from 2.6% to 2.5% by 2027, and then rise to 3.0% by 2035. In statutory pension insurance, there is a projected increase in contributions from the current 18.6% to 22.3% by 2035, taking into account the proposed traffic light pension package.
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The anticipated increase in social contributions, primarily in health and pension insurance, highlights the need for thorough social policy evaluation. Implementing effective social policies could potentially help mitigate the predicted surge in contributions, such as the Health Chief's proposal for a stability pact in statutory health insurance.
The anticipated financial burden from health insurance premiums could further strain social systems, necessitating careful consideration of policy decisions related to public health and social welfare.
