Many people with statutory health insurance are preparing for rising contributions in the coming year.

Rightly so, because Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also wants to compensate for the expected record deficit in the health system of 17 billion euros by increasing the additional contribution by 0.3 percentage points.

This is what his health insurance stabilization law provides for.

On average, the additional contribution would then be 1.6 percent instead of the previous 1.3 percent of gross income up to the assessment limit.

The regular contribution of 14.6 percent remains unchanged.

Christian Geinitz

Business correspondent in Berlin

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For the first time, the total burden, which employers and employees share equally, rises to more than 16 percent.

While the regular contribution is identical for all statutory health insurance companies (GKV), you can set the additional contribution yourself in order to bring some competition into the system, in which otherwise services and prices hardly differ from each other.

IKK Gesund Plus was the first health insurance company to set the new contributions for 2023.

According to information from the FAZ, however, it does not raise the additional contribution, but leaves it at 1.1 percent.

The company from Magdeburg thus remains below the 16 percent threshold.

The IKK can obviously afford to forego new income, but also sees its step as a political statement - against the increase in spending in the health care system for which Berlin is responsible.

"Contrary to the trend, we are not burdening our insured persons additionally," assures the CEO Uwe Deh.

"We also want to send a signal that the undisputed profitability reserves in our health care system must be raised instead of concealing the problems of reaching into the pockets of the contributors." So it's about saving, about "lean processes", like Deh says who has been following his house for a long time.

"In the tense economic situation for many people, our insured persons should not have to worry about financing their health." According to the IKK Gesund Plus, it looks after 450,000 insured persons with 71,000 employers.

Health care deficits are a political problem

Deh points out that the deficit is not caused by high inflation with rising energy prices and wages in the healthcare system, as is often claimed.

Rather, the underfunding is “the consequence of health policy over two legislatures and the first traffic light year”.

He has the impression that covetousness and pressure from interest groups have been "stifled" with money.

A policy that eliminates structural deficits and inefficiencies and concentrates on the users of the healthcare system would be more correct.

This could slow down the rise in spending significantly.

The cash boss says the state will withdraw more than 40 billion euros from the healthcare system in 2023.

Under these conditions, it would be “incentive-compatible” for the funds to increase contributions instead of looking for alternatives.

However, his house is trying to go other ways and is therefore keeping the contributions stable.

Deh's calculations refer to the planned reduction in federal grants from 64 to 20 billion euros.

It is planned that the subsidy to the health fund will decrease from 28.8 to 16.5 billion euros.

However, in normal years these funds only amount to 14.5 billion euros.