After Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) announced that she wants to keep supplementary health‑insurance contributions stable, the Federal Association of Statutory Health Insurance (GKV‑Spitzenverband) demanded rapid reform steps from the federal government – otherwise the contributions would rise again by the end of the year.
Oliver Blatt, chairman of the GKV‑Spitzenverband, told the Wednesday edition of the “Rheinische Post” that the goal is to prevent insurers and their employers from having to pay ever higher contributions out of their pockets. “If the federal government does not act decisively and push forward the necessary reforms soon, another increase in supplementary contributions is threatened by the end of the year” he warned.
Blatt explained that the total expenditures of the health insurers rose 7.8 percent last year, from €327 billion to €352 billion. Hospital care was the largest driver, climbing almost 10 percent to €111 billion. Outpatient services increased 7.6 percent to €54 billion, while the cost of medicines rose 5.9 percent to €58 billion compared with 2024. For the current year the association expects spending to grow 6.6 percent to about €370 billion, but revenues from contributions are projected to rise by less than five percent.
The widening gap between revenue and spending creates pressure on the system. “To keep contributions flat or to bring them down, decisive reforms are needed this year, with effects that must start materialising by early 2027” Blatt added. He called for firm cost‑cutting measures in all major expense areas – hospitals, outpatient care, and pharmaceuticals – to avoid further increases in contributions.