Policyholders of the health insurance company AOK Plus in Saxony and Thuringia will have to pay higher contributions. This was announced by the health insurance company on Tuesday. The board of directors of the largest statutory health insurance fund in both federal states agreed on an additional contribution rate of 1.8 percent from January 1, 2024. The general contribution rate will then rise to 16.4 percent. The fund has a budget volume of 15.8 billion euros for healthcare in both federal states.
The decision was not an easy one, said Daniela Kolbe, Chair of the Board of Directors. It was justified by political interventions that had caused the fund's expenditure to rise significantly in recent years. According to Kolbe, among other things, the double transfer of assets in 2021 and this year amounting to almost 840 million "took away additional room for maneuver".
Among the major cost blocks in 2022 were pharmaceutical costs, which rose by 5.6 percent year-on-year to just under 2.4 billion for AOK Plus last year. The costs for hospital treatment and medical treatment also increased compared to 2021.
AOK Plus insures around 3.5 million people, which is over 57 percent of all people with statutory health insurance in Saxony and Thuringia.
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