AOK boss Reimann warns of contribution shock: “Cash registers are empty”

Berlin In view of the impending record deficit of the statutory health insurance funds of 17 billion euros, the chairwoman of the AOK federal association, Carola Reimann, warned of dramatic consequences. “We have a fragile situation,” she told Handelsblatt. “The minister must understand that the coffers are empty.”

If Germany slides into a recession, this would also plunge the cash register system into a “historical crisis”. “No one is prepared for that,” Reimann said. This would also increase the risk of health insurance companies becoming insolvent. “You wouldn’t want to imagine that with a large cash register.”

The financial reform planned by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) would only increase this risk, since, among other things, the cash reserves are to be used. The reform is “hectic patchwork that offers no planning security beyond 2023”. The planned higher additional contributions are already “not good news” for the insured, but may not be enough, explained the head of the association.