Berlin. Taking into account a new report, the social association VdK calls for an increase in tax-financed GKV contributions for recipients of citizen benefits. “It is the task of the welfare state to guarantee medical care when receiving benefits from citizens,” VdK President Verena Bentele said on Sunday. “This social task should not be passed on to those who pay the fees. The State must finally fulfill its financing mandate and pay the full health insurance contribution for citizens’ benefit recipients.”
the background is a new report commissioned by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds. Accordingly, the deficit between GKV revenues and expenses for recipients of citizenship benefits (formerly ALG II) amounted to 9.2 billion euros in 2022. In 2022, health insurers received 108.48 euros per month per member who received a citizen’s allowance. According to the report, a contribution of 311.40 euros would have covered the costs.
Hole of almost ten billion euros
Bentele referred to this Coalition agreement between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP. It says: “We are financing higher contributions for those receiving unemployment benefit II from tax revenues: “But nothing has happened so far.”
The VdK president also described it as “particularly unfair” that benefit recipients of privately insured citizens receive higher subsidies for their private health insurance than employment centers pay to members of the statutory health insurance.
In fact, Article 232a SGB V provides for beneficiaries of citizenship benefits in the GKV that their contribution is determined on the basis of the so-called “monthly reference value” (2024 West: 3,535 euros) with a factor of 0.2155. The reduced GKV contribution rate (14.0%) plus the average additional contribution rate (2024: 1.7%) applies to these fictitious income. For 2024, legal health insurance funds will receive 119.60 euros per month for each citizen benefit recipient.
For privately insured individuals, however, Section 26 of SGB II stipulates that employment centers pay a maximum of “half the contribution towards the basic rate”. In 2024, it will be 843.52 euros, which means that policyholders will receive a subsidy of up to 421.77 euros per month. (nose)