Germany's longest-running health insurance provider, DAK, celebrates its 250th anniversary.

Social issues - Germany's longest-running health insurance provider, DAK, celebrates its 250th anniversary.

The oldest health insurance provider in Germany, DAK-Gesundheit, is celebrating its 250th anniversary. The Hamburg Senate will recognize the achievement with a Senate reception at the town hall on Tuesday. One of DAK's origins can be traced back to the "Institute for Assistance to Needy Clerks" founded in 1774 in Breslau, which was part of Prussia at the time and is now located in Poland. Back then, employees of merchants didn't have social security coverage, unlike in guilds and confraternities, Andrea Storm, the managing director of DAK-Gesundheit, said to the news agency dpa. "What's noteworthy is that the clerks themselves came up with the idea of organizing themselves." This marked the birth of the concept of self-administered social insurance. Storm said, "That's the massive contribution they made."

The system has survived the most severe political crises. Storm cited the Napoleonic era, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Nazi dictatorship as examples. "That's uplifting." He pointed out that the current issues appear smaller in comparison to the challenges faced by previous generations. However, Storm doesn't consider self-administered social insurance to be a given. "It needs to continue fighting for its place." Its future existence relies on the actors tackling issues like financing with the same passion as previous generations did during past crises.

DAK-Gesundheit in its current form, situated in Hamburg with about 10,000 employees, was created through various mergers. It provides healthcare coverage for approximately 5.6 million members, making it the third biggest health insurance company in Germany.

In the introduction of a scientific paper published for the anniversary, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier referred to mergers like that of the needy clerks as "pioneers for our modern welfare state and our trustworthy healthcare system."

Read also:

1. The anniversary celebration for DAK-Gesundheit, Germany's oldest health insurance provider, will take place in Hamburg, with Andreas Storm, its managing director, in attendance.
2. The origins of DAK-Gesundheit can be traced back to the "Institute for Assistance to Needy Clerks" founded in Wroclaw (formerly Breslau) in 1774.
3. To recognize DAK-Gesundheit's 250th anniversary, the Hamburg Senate will host a Senate reception at the town hall, honoring the company's significant contributions to health insurance and social affairs.
4. DAK-Gesundheit has faced numerous political crises throughout its history, including the Napoleonic era, the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and the Nazi dictatorship, demonstrating the resilience of self-administered health insurance in Germany.

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