CSU alleges Lauterbach of misleading the general populace
According to industry estimates, health insurance companies will be required to shell out around 25 billion euros between 2026 and 2035 as a result of the hospital reform. However, Health Minister Lauterbach has assured the public that premiums won't increase for the next two years. The CSU, on the other hand, vocalizes accusations of dishonesty.
Bavaria's Health Minister Judith Gerlach accused Federal Minister Karl Lauterbach of misleading the public during the heated discussion over health insurance contribution hikes. Lauterbach, a member of the SPD, allegedly makes misleading claims, as per Gerlach, when he guarantees no heightened premiums for 2026 and attributes the anticipated increase in additional contributions to the costs of the hospital reform. Gerlach spoke to the "Augsburger Allgemeinen."
"Lauterbach is deceiving the public," Gerlach stated. "Because from 2026, billions of euros in additional costs will be incurred by health insurers due to the transformation fund planned by him." As per the traffic light coalition's hospital reform legislation, the funds will be responsible for paying up to 25 billion euros for the transformation of the clinical landscape between 2026 and 2035.
These impending costs were not accounted for in the latest forecast of the Schätzerkreis for the increase in additional contributions. "The predicted increases for 2025 are the consequence of the federal government's previous policy, not the hospital reform," Gerlach pointed out.
Lauterbach: No More Contribution Increases
Lauterbach attributed the predicted contribution increase to "historical" levels. Experts from the Schätzerkreis had calculated an obligatory increase in the additional contribution by 0.8 percentage points, reaching 2.5% of the relevant income subject to contributions for 2025. This figure is theoretical and the actual increase in contribution rate, determined by each health insurance company individually, is yet to be decided. The overall contribution, which incorporates the general rate of 14.6% of gross wages and shared between employer and employee, includes both the additional rate and the base rate.
Lauterbach does not foresee any additional premium increases for 2026 beyond the predicted increase, as he informed "Bild am Sonntag." "The reforms we have already implemented, which are now beginning to take effect, and the reforms we are currently in the process of implementing, will actually halt the contribution rate increase," Lauterbach told the publication. Without the hospital reform, the contribution rate would have experienced a more substantial increase than currently anticipated.
Despite Lauterbach's assurance of no premium increases for the next two years, the Health Minister's plan to allocate 25 billion euros for the hospital transformation fund between 2026 and 2035 could potentially burden health insurance companies with additional costs, requiring them to seek health insurance premium adjustments after 2024.
Given the anticipated 25 billion euros in additional costs due to the hospital transformation fund, it is crucial for health insurance companies to have a clear understanding of the potential impact on their premium structures beyond Lauterbach's guaranteed period of no premium increases.
