Health Minister Nina Warken of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is reportedly anticipating a significant increase in contributions to Germany’s statutory health and long-term care insurance systems. According to reports from a closed-door briefing for journalists, Minister Warken indicated that the average supplementary contribution within the statutory health insurance (GKV) system could rise from the current 2.5% to between 3.0% and 3.1% by 2026.
This projected increase would place an additional burden of approximately €150 annually on both statutory health insurance holders and their employers. The necessity for this rise, despite a planned €2.3 billion loan from the federal government to the GKV, was reportedly explained by Minister Warken as a measure to avoid a potentially larger contribution hike. Without this loan, the supplementary contribution could escalate to as high as 3.3% or even 3.4%. A potential increase of 0.1 percentage points is also looming for the long-term care insurance contribution.
Health insurance funds have expressed concern. Andreas Storm, CEO of DAK, stated that loans are “not a sustainable solution”. He emphasized the need for the federal government to more consistently cover the costs of citizens receiving social welfare benefits (Bürgergeld) within the statutory health insurance system, urging action within the current budget cycle. The declared objective of the federal government remains the prevention of escalating social security contributions.
