Ramona Pop, the Chairwoman of the German Consumer Protection Federation (VZBV), welcomed the announcement by Federal Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) that statutory health insurance funds must once again inform policyholders when increasing their contributions. Pop told the “Rheinische Post” that Minister Linnemann’s proposal was a crucial and long-overdue signal.
Pop stated that the Federation has repeatedly demanded the reversal of the elimination of this information obligation. She emphasized that anyone who needs to pay more must be directly informed by their health insurance provider. Only then, she argues, can policyholders exercise their right to special cancellation or determine if a switch to another provider is worthwhile. Pop urged the Federal Government to quickly re-establish this duty in law.
Meanwhile, Oliver Blatt, Chairman of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband), expressed openness to returning to the obligation for statutory health insurers to notify members about fee increases, though he cautioned against new layers of bureaucracy. In speaking to the “Rheinische Post,” Blatt agreed, “It is naturally good and correct that the health insurance funds inform their insured when there is a change in the contribution rate.”
However, he warned, “What we do not need are bureaucratic requirements that create no real added value, but merely lead to increased administrative costs.” The head of the statutory health insurance sector added that a key requirement for them is the ability to utilize digital channels for this type of information sharing.
