Health: Health insurance fear deficit for refugees – ZEIT ONLINE

According to a report of the Frankfurter Rundschau expect the insurance companies with a billion hole in their budgets because of the high numbers of refugees. Without an increase in the tax subsidy will therefore already this year, a gap of several hundred million euros arise because the federal government for refugees and other Hartz IV recipients far too low insurance contributions on fashion. 2017 will the deficit then have to rise to more than one billion euros.

Stay Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) in its uncompromising attitude towards further tax subsidies, would have the statutory insurance to offset the deficits through higher additional contributions. Currently, the Treasury will transfer 14 billion euros per year, in 2017 14.5 billion euros have been planned.

refugees be treated after a waiting period of 15 months normal workers in the social systems. If they have a job, which will initially apply to most refugees, they are entitled to unemployment benefit II (Hartz IV). You will also receive the full benefits of the statutory health insurance; the contributions to the respective fund pays while the federal government.

The amount of assumed by the federal government posts but could not begin to cover its costs, reports the newspaper said. Currently, the federal government will pay for each Hartz IV recipients around 90 euros a month. Although still lacking reliable figures as high caused refugee health costs actually are. However, it will give first experience from Hamburg, emanating from costs 180 to 200 euros a month.

The monthly gap between contributions and actual cost of health insurance would therefore at about 100 euros a month or 1,200 euros a year. Per hundred thousand refugees arises as in the statutory health insurance a deficit of 120 million euros a year. Even supposing that during the year 2017 a million refugees, the waiting period of 15 months has exceeded the latest, then grow the hole to more than one billion euros.

However, the newspaper continued, the funds transferred by the Federal Government contributions also for “normal” Hartz IV recipients are below cost. According to information from the Frankfurter Rundschau the coffers lose even with this group of people at least 120 million euros a year, and rising. The funds would therefore absorb a growing deficit even without immigration. To plug the holes, Schäuble would increase the tax subsidy for public health insurance significantly.