Deficit in German public health schemes
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The German public Krankenkassen recorded a DM 7,500 million ($5,187 million) deficit in the first nine months of 1995. Health Minister Horst Seehofer says that he cannot rule out a figure of DM 10,000 million for the full year. If this is the case, he estimates that insurance contributions will have to rise by between 0.3% and 0.5% from January 1st, 1996. Should the health reforms fail, Mr Seehofer warns that higher contributions and deficits would necessitate tough legal measures.