As discussions about healthcare reform progress, structural issues within the health insurance system are gaining increasing attention, alongside discussions of potential increased burdens for insured individuals. Christos Pantazis, the health policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, warned in the “Bild” newspaper (Monday edition) that the costs should not be borne by any single party. He stated, “It cannot be that in the end, only the insured individuals must pay the price. It is clear: everyone must make their contribution-the insured, the service providers, and indeed, the health insurance funds”.
Pantazis also insisted that the insurance funds themselves must be more significantly involved in reform considerations. He argued, “Anyone who pretends that the funds can be left out of this misunderstands reality. There are efficiency reserves there that we must utilize. This expressly includes a structural reform of the insurance fund system”.
Against this backdrop, Pantazis openly discussed a significant reduction in the number of insurance funds. He stated plainly, “We do not need 90 health insurance funds. A handful, up to a maximum of ten, large and capable funds would be sufficient. What is crucial is a sensible minimum size so that administration can be organized efficiently and care reliably managed”.
These challenges are also being discussed within the industry itself. Andreas Storm, the CEO of DAK-Gesundheit, told “Bild” that, “The expenditures of the health insurance funds will also be limited in the future”. However, he acknowledged that the structure of the funds should “not be a taboo”. Andreas Beivers, a health economist from Hochschule Fresenius, also told “Bild” that, “The health insurance funds too must reorient themselves for the future”. He pointed to “major challenges regarding digitalization, IT security, and forms of treatment”. Beivers added, “It must be questioned whether all around 90 funds are currently equally able to cope with this”.