21.06.2023 – 12:30
hkk health insurance
Bremen (ots)
The hkk Krankenkasse (commercial health insurance company) published its annual report (www.hkk.de/geschaeftsbericht) for the year 2022 on Tuesday. Last year, hkk was again able to record double-digit percentage growth and at the end of the year exceeded the threshold of 900,000 insured persons for the first time. This growth was significantly influenced by hkk’s consistently attractive price-performance ratio: outstanding performance and services at a particularly low premium rate.
Contribution advantage remains
With a contribution rate of currently 15.58 percent (including 0.98 percent additional contribution), the hkk is one of the cheapest health insurance companies that can be selected nationwide for the ninth time in a row. Compared to an expensive health insurance company, hkk members can save up to 245 euros per year, depending on their earnings. “In the years to come, hkk’s contribution rate will remain above average,” says Michael Lempe, hkk board member.
Annual result 2022
One reason for this lies in the long-term financial strength of hkk: hkk generated a surplus of 30.3 million euros in the 2022 financial year. The income was around 2.58 billion euros – this corresponds to an increase of 6.3 percent per insured person compared to the previous year. Expenditure was 2.55 billion euros and only fell by 4.6 percent per insured person compared to the previous year because the federal government imposed an extraordinary asset transfer on the health insurance companies in 2021.
The financial volume of the hkk rose to around 3.3 billion euros – of which around 2.58 billion euros for health insurance and 731 million euros for long-term care insurance.
Benefit expenditures 2022
Benefit expenditure was 2.45 billion euros in 2022 – this corresponds to an absolute increase of 327 million euros – and thus accounted for 96.2 percent of total expenditure. Overall, benefit expenditure rose by an average of 4.2 percent per insured person. As in the previous year, the greatest cost factor was hospital treatment, which grew by 5.3 percent per insured person. Expenditures for pharmaceuticals also increased by a total of 3.3 percent per insured person. “On the one hand, this is due to high-priced new drug launches – especially in cancer therapy,” explains Dr. Cornelius Erbe, Head of Supply Management. “But also because of the overall increase in the number of prescriptions.”
The costs for dental treatments rose by 2.1 percent per insured person, among other things due to increased use and a changed periodontosis guideline. In the field of dentures, the costs have fallen by 4.1 percent per insured person, despite higher fee agreements.
Growth in 2022/2023 – more than 900,000 insured for the first time
hkk has never had so many insured persons: in 2022 the number rose by 10.8% compared to the previous year to an average of 888,000 insured persons. The hkk currently insures more than 910,000 people throughout Germany (as of June 2023). The number of insured persons has almost tripled within around 10 years. The number of paying members rose in 2022 to 694,565 people on average over the year. With an average age of 40.31 years, hkk policyholders were also significantly younger in 2022 than the industry average (44.73 years).
More employees – less administration costs
The hkk was once again able to expand its staff: in 2022, the hkk created 78 additional jobs subject to social security contributions and increased the number of trainees to a total of 53. These are usually taken on after they have successfully completed their training.
The low hkk administration costs fell again significantly to EUR 88.50 per insured person (2021: EUR 98.05). In 2022, they were 47 percent below the average for statutory health insurance (GKV): Overall, hkk spent around 80 euros less per insured person than an average health insurance company. Based on the size of hkk, this corresponds to a cost advantage of more than 70 million euros. At the hkk, administration costs accounted for only 3.1 percent of total expenditure.
Health policy: Sustainable financing of statutory health insurance required
The closing of the financing gap of the statutory health insurance companies for the current year 2023 was only possible through increases in contributions from many health insurance companies, the GKV Financial Stabilization Act and a renewed compulsory payment of 2.5 billion euros, which solidly operating health insurance companies such as the hkk had to make. “In order to avoid swinging from one funding gap to the next in the coming years, extensive changes are needed on the revenue and expenditure side of the statutory health insurance system,” says hkk board member Michael Lempe and continues:
“A pragmatic approach on the revenue side could be to finally transfer the statutory health insurance companies cost-covering contributions for the recipients of the citizen’s income. Currently, the state contributions only cover about a third of the actual costs. This would result in around ten billion euros in additional income for the mean GKV per year.” In addition, the state would have to link the federal subsidy for the non-insurance services provided by the health insurance companies to the development of the gross domestic product or to the development of expenditure by the health insurance companies.
Cost savings on hospital services and pharmaceuticals
The hkk welcomes the initiative launched by the Federal Ministry of Health at the beginning of 2023 to comprehensively restructure the hospital landscape. Structural changes in the hospital and drug sector would make significant improvements in quality possible while at the same time reducing expenditure.
But the federal and state governments would have to modernize the outdated structures of the hospital landscape, among other things. “There is a risk here that no uniform planning system can be achieved in the ongoing talks between the federal government and the 16 federal states. We therefore advocate that additional funds for the process of change in the inpatient sector should only flow if a uniform and with all those involved coordinated approach is ensured”, Michael Lempe makes clear.
In addition to the savings that can certainly only be achieved in the medium term in the hospital sector, the introduction of a reduced VAT rate for medicines and medical aids – which is already common in other EU countries – could result in a short-term cost reduction of more than 5 billion euros to reduce the to 3.5 to 7 billion euros of the estimated financial gap in 2024 and thus significantly reduce the need for additional contribution increases by health insurance companies.
Breakthrough in digitization needed
Although the pandemic has accelerated the development of digitization in the healthcare sector, Germany still lags decades behind other European countries in this area. For example, the use of the electronic patient files (ePA), which have been available since 2021, falls far short of the requirements. The hkk therefore welcomes all government efforts to accelerate the digitization of the healthcare system. In particular, the digital identities planned for all insured persons from 2024, the ePA and the electronic prescription can help to achieve a breakthrough here. “Of course, the benefits of digital health applications must be in balance with legitimate data protection requirements,” says Lempe. “EU countries, in which the European General Data Protection Regulation applies equally and which are already further along, can serve as a role model for us.”
About hkk Krankenkasse (commercial health insurance company): With more than 910,000 insured persons (over 710,000 of them paying members), 14 branches and 2,100 service points, hkk is one of the largest statutory health insurance companies. In 2022, she recorded a growth of more than 50,000 customers. With its additional contribution of 0.98 percent, it is one of the cheapest health insurance companies in Germany. The above-average benefits include more than EUR 1,000 cost coverage per insured person and year for natural medicine, preventive care and pregnancy. The advantageous price-performance ratio is made possible by financial strength that has grown over decades and administrative costs that are more than 40 percent below the industry average. Around 1,300 employees will look after a budget volume of around 3.7 billion euros in 2023. Health insurance accounts for around 2.9 billion euros of this. The volume of benefit expenditure is 2.7 billion euros (+ 11.5 percent).
Press contact:
hkk health insurance (commercial health insurance), Martinistr. 26, 28195 Bremen
Holm Is Tel.: 0421.3655 2075
Gabriele Nottelmann Phone: 0421.3655 1006
Ilja Mertens Tel.: 0421.3655 3177
E-Mail: [email protected]; Internet: www.hkk.de
Original content from: hkk Krankenkasse, transmitted by news aktuell