Hospital.Help

Berlin – Statutory health insurance companies recorded a deficit of 776 million euros in the first three months of the current year. This is according to figures published today by the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).

“The health insurance companies reported a significant deficit in the first quarter because expenditure development has gained significant momentum. Even if the financial data for the first quarter should still be viewed with a certain degree of caution in view of the overall annual development, we must take this development seriously,” commented Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) on the data.

It is now all the more important that the “many efficiency-enhancing structural reforms in the health care system” continue to be pushed forward quickly, said Lauterbach. He referred in particular to the hospital sector – in this area, statutory health insurance expenditure has again risen sharply. “With overcapacity and 30 percent of beds being vacant, the need for hospital reform is once again evident.”

The emergency reform and the Healthy Heart Act would also reduce costs. These and other reforms are key building blocks for stabilizing the finances of the statutory health insurance system in the medium to long term, explained the Health Minister. Care will be made more efficient, the quality of care will be increased and unnecessary expenditure will be avoided.

According to the preliminary accounting results, the financial reserves of the health insurance funds amounted to around 7.6 billion euros at the end of the quarter. This corresponds to 0.3 months’ expenditure and thus one and a half times the legally required minimum reserve of 0.2 months’ expenditure.

The health insurance funds’ income of EUR 79.5 billion was offset by expenditure of EUR 80.2 billion in the first quarter of 2024. Expenditure on benefits and administrative costs increased by seven percent, with the number of insured persons increasing by 0.3 percent.

Financial development by health insurance type

According to the figures, the substitute health insurance funds recorded a deficit of 314 million euros, the local health insurance funds 282 million euros, the company health insurance funds 128 million euros and the guild health insurance funds 72 million euros. The miners’ association, on the other hand, recorded a surplus of 23 million euros. The agricultural health insurance fund, which does not participate in the risk structure compensation, recorded a deficit of 23 million euros.

The health fund, which had a liquidity reserve of around 9.4 billion euros as of January 15, 2024, recorded a deficit of 4.5 billion euros. A significant part of the deficit results from the fact that a total of 3.1 billion euros will be distributed from the liquidity reserve to the health insurance companies in 2024 in order to stabilize the health insurance companies’ additional contribution rates.

Contribution income (excluding additional contributions) rose by 5.3 percent compared to the same period last year. However, benefit expenditure rose by 7.5 percent, which is significantly more than in recent years. In absolute terms, health insurance providers’ benefit expenditure rose by 5.32 billion euros in the first quarter.

Hospital costs increased by almost two billion

Spending on hospital treatments rose by 8.5 percent or 1.94 billion euros in the first quarter of 2024. The BMG emphasizes that the hospital sector is thus a “significant driver of the high spending dynamics”. In particular, nursing staff costs have once again risen extremely dynamically, by around 10.5 percent (510 million euros).

Expenses for the supply of pharmaceuticals also rose sharply by 9.1 percent (1.12 billion euros). The BMG points out that this development is particularly influenced by the expiration of the statutory manufacturer discount, which was increased one-off in 2023 from seven to twelve percent as a result of the Statutory Health Insurance Financial Stabilization Act.

Expenditure on outpatient medical treatments rose by a moderate 4.7 percent (558 million euros) from January to March. © aha/aerzteblatt.de