Press Release No. 07/2016 IG Metall Calls for a Return to Joint Financing of Health Insurance Premiums

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall is calling for a return to equal financing of health insurance premiums by employees and employers. “Freezing employer contributions to statutory health insurance was a serious social policy mistake that must now be urgently reversed. Our members are deeply outraged because the injustice caused by the recent increase in supplementary premiums is now clearly felt in their wallets,” said Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, on Monday in Frankfurt.

The supplementary premium is unfair from a distributional perspective because it places the burden solely on the insured while simultaneously exempting employers from helping to finance medical advances and rising healthcare costs. “Furthermore, the supplementary premium creates the wrong regulatory incentives because it forces health insurance plans into a cost-based competition over the level of premiums. This fuels the race to attract young, healthy insured individuals, as they represent ‘good risks’ for the health insurance plans,” said Hans-Jürgen Urban, Executive Board Member of IG Metall. Instead of focusing on the quality of care and proximity to the insured, competition is now being waged over the level of premiums.

Limits must be placed on service providers’ excessive revenue expectations—for example, through effective cost controls on pharmaceuticals. IG Metall will advocate for this in workplaces, in social self-governance bodies, and with policymakers.

Background: At the beginning of 2016, the supplementary health insurance premiums—which are borne solely by the insured—increased. Employees must shoulder an average supplementary premium of 1.1 percent. Depending on income, this burden can amount to up to 47 euros per month and 560 euros per year. Health insurance companies and health economists expect a further increase in the additional premiums for 2017 of about 0.4 percentage points, bringing the rate to 1.5 percent.