German sickness fund deficit "a cause for concern"
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Three weeks before the German general election, the financial deficit of the statutory health insurance funds has fallen to some E2.4bn ($2.4bn) for the first half of 2002. Experts from the Fritz-Beske Institute for healthcare systems research are predicting that health insurance contribution rates will almost double by 2030 unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. The opposition parties are sensing blood and preparing for a feeding frenzy. But health minister Ulla Schmidt remains seemingly unperturbed.