Anti-Reduction Coalition of GKV-Copperverband Fights Health Insurance Count Decrease
German Statutory Health Insurance Faces Urgent Financial Challenges, Says GKV-Spitzenverband
The German statutory health insurance (GKV) is grappling with significant financial problems, according to Oliver Blatt, the GKV board chairman. In an interview with the Funke media group newspapers, Blatt expressed his concern over the growing deficit in the system, which is primarily due to rising expenditures outpacing revenue growth.
Between 2023 and the first quarter of 2025, the deficit of statutory health insurance providers increased substantially from €1.9 billion to €4.5 billion, with estimates for 2025 ranging from €10 billion to €27 billion. This deficit growth is driven by high inflation causing expenditures to rise by 6.8%, while revenues based on insured persons’ wages increase by only 3.7%.
In response to these financial challenges, the statutory health insurers have increased the additional contribution rates from an average of 1.7% in 2024 to 2.5% or more in 2025, burdening employees and employers and partly offsetting workers' wage gains.
However, Blatt maintains that the discussion about the right number of statutory health insurers in Germany is a distraction from these urgent financial challenges. He labels this discussion as a "typical summer filler story" and opposes any streamlining of the health insurance landscape, stating that further mergers would yield only marginal savings insufficient to offset rising service-related costs.
The GKV-Spitzenverband, led by Blatt, emphasizes that addressing financial deficits requires more than mergers and streamlining. The core issue, they argue, is the rising deficit fueled by inflation and insufficient revenue. The primary focus should be on addressing these root causes rather than structural overhauls.
In summary, the GKV-Spitzenverband highlights that the primary financial problem is the rising deficit fueled by inflation and insufficient revenue, while streamlining insurers through mergers is seen as a minor and insufficient measure to address the systemic financial challenges of German statutory health insurance.
The rising deficit in the German statutory health insurance (GKV) is a significant concern, as stated by Oliver Blatt, the GKV board chairman. This deficit, projected to range from €10 billion to €27 billion in 2025, is largely due to high inflation causing expenditures to rise while revenues based on insured persons’ wages increase at a slower rate.
Attempts to offset this deficit include increasing the additional contribution rates from 1.7% in 2024 to 2.5% or more in 2025, which burden employees and employers.
However, Blatt, along with the GKV-Spitzenverband, believes that a discussion about the number of statutory health insurers in Germany is a distraction from the urgent financial challenges. They argue that addressing the root cause, the rising deficit fueled by inflation and insufficient revenue, is of paramount importance.
Moreover, the primary focus should be on measures that address these root causes, such as addressing the effects of high inflation, rather than structural overhauls like mergers of health insurers.
