TK boss Jens Baas warns of fee explosion

Berlin The head of the Techniker Krankenkasse, Jens Baas, has called on the traffic light parties to carry out far-reaching reforms of the statutory health insurance. “The money is gone, so the traffic lights have to act quickly,” Baas told the Handelsblatt.

The federal government will support the statutory health insurance funds in the coming year alone with a record grant of 28.5 billion euros. “The new federal government will have to keep the federal grant high,” said Baas.

“At the same time, however, it is also to be feared that it will cause the contributions to rise slightly, thereby burying the social guarantee within the next four years.” The social guarantee means that social contributions will not exceed the 40 percent mark. “Once the mark falls, the contributions could rise quickly,” remarked Baas.

“That is why my plea is: We have to deal with the expenses. In the past eight years, the system has only become more expensive. ”Among other things, Baas called for a reform of the hospital structure with fewer hospital beds and immediate measures for lower pharmaceutical prices.