Additional contributions: Government abolishes health insurance companies’ obligation to provide information

Additional contributions

Important cash register obligation “will be canceled”

In the future, health insurance companies should no longer have to inform their members if they increase additional contributions. This makes it much more difficult to switch to a cash register prematurely.

However, a planned reform by the federal government could make changing health insurance companies much more difficult. As can be seen from a draft amendment to the Statutory Health Insurance Contribution Stabilization Act, health insurance companies should no longer have to inform their insured persons about increases in additional contributions in the future.

Originally, the federal government simply wanted to release the health insurance companies from the obligation to inform the insured persons by letter about the increase in additional contributions. Instead, it was planned that the health insurance companies should only inform their members electronically, for example by email. This should save the health insurance companies administrative costs.

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Now, however, this obligation to inform members will apparently be eliminated completely, reports the “Tagesspiegel”. The proposed changes now say: “The obligation of health insurance companies to inform their members about an increase in the additional contribution rate will be deleted.”

However, exercising the special right of termination is made considerably more difficult by the change in the law. Ramona Pop, board member of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, explained to the “Tagesspiegel”: “Without a clear obligation to provide information, insured people can no longer change health insurance companies prematurely after an increase in contributions. The coalition cannot allow that.”