230
According to the preliminary financial results for the first quarter of 2015, income of around 53.08 billion euros was offset by expenditure of around 53.25 billion euros. The difference of almost 170 million euros can be explained by the fact that the health insurance companies have given their policyholders a share of their high financial reserves through a lower average additional contribution of 0.83 percent (instead of the previous special contribution of 0.9 percent). Without the associated reduced income, the 124 statutory health insurance companies would not have ended the first quarter with a deficit, but with a surplus.