DON’T MISS
IamExpat FairIamExpat Job BoardIamExpat Webinars
Newsletters
EXPAT INFO
CAREER
HOUSING
EDUCATION
LIFESTYLE
EXPAT SERVICES
NEWS & ARTICLES
Home
Expat Info
German news & articles
German health insurance companies record a loss for first time since 2014
Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy

German health insurance companies record a loss for first time since 2014

Never miss a thing!Sign up for our weekly newsletters with important news stories, expat events and special offers.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy
or
follow us for regular updates:



Related Stories

German farm offering video calls with alpacas during coronavirus shutdownGerman farm offering video calls with alpacas during coronavirus shutdown
Easter under lockdown: What is and isn't allowed over the holidays?Easter under lockdown: What is and isn't allowed over the holidays?
Coronavirus: How to apply for financial assistance in GermanyCoronavirus: How to apply for financial assistance in Germany
Why is the coronavirus death rate in Germany so low?Why is the coronavirus death rate in Germany so low?
April 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in GermanyApril 2025: 8 changes affecting expats in Germany
Sharp increase in number of people taking mental health sick days in GermanySharp increase in number of people taking mental health sick days in Germany
GP surgeries across Germany to remain closed on Monday due to strikeGP surgeries across Germany to remain closed on Monday due to strike
Calls for dental care to be cut from public health insurance coverageCalls for dental care to be cut from public health insurance coverage
For expats of all colours, shapes and sizes

Explore
Expat infoCareerHousingEducationLifestyleExpat servicesNews & articles
About us
IamExpat MediaAdvertisePost a jobContact usImpressumSitemapRSS feeds
More IamExpat
IamExpat Job BoardIamExpat HousingIamExpat FairWebinarsNewsletters
Privacy
Terms of usePrivacy policyCookiesAvoiding scams

Never miss a thing!Sign up for expat events, news & offers, delivered once a week.
Keep me updated with exclusive offers from partner companies
By signing up, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with our privacy policy


© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
© 2025 IamExpat Media B.V.
Jun 17, 2019
Abi Carter

Editor in chief at IamExpat Media

Abi studied German and History at the University of Manchester and has since lived in Berlin, Hamburg and Utrecht, working since 2017 as a writer, editor and content marketeer. Although she's happily taken on some German and Dutch quirks, she keeps a stash of Yorkshire Tea on hand, because nowhere does a brew quite like home.Read more

It hasn’t been a great start to the year for German health insurance: in the first three months of the year, a loss of 112 million euros was recorded. This is the first time in four years that the insurance companies have not turned a profit.

German statutory health insurance in the red

According to research by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), for the first time since 2014 a loss was recorded by the companies providing statutory health insurance in Germany, meaning that they will have to dip into their financial reserves to pay the cost of treating their policyholders.

In the first three months of this year, the health insurance funds made a loss of 112 million euros. In the first quarter of last year, in contrast, they reported a surplus of 416 million euros. For 2018 as a whole, Germany’s 109 Krankenkassen (“sickness funds” - statutory health insurance providers) had an overall surplus of 2 billion euros.

Lower health insurance contributions

According to the FAZ, three major factors are to blame for the providers’ sudden dive into the red: as well as changes to health fund allocations, a reduction in contribution rates and higher expenditure both had an impact.  

On top of fixed contribution rates, health insurance funds are entitled to charge their policyholders an “additional contribution” of up to 1,1 percent. These, however, were reduced at the end of last year when politicians demanded that health insurance funds diminish their cash surpluses. Five of eleven funds reduced their additional contributions, with the largest company, the Techniker Krankenkasse, cutting additional contributions by two tenths. The losses recorded this year seem to be a direct outcome of this decision.

Higher expenditure by German health insurance funds

Another factor contributing to the losses is the higher expenditure on healthcare reported by almost all Krankenkassen. Last year, total expenditure at the Ersatzkassen rose by 4,8 percent per insured person. Similarly, at the Allgemeine Orskrakenkasse (AOK) expenditure also rose, by about 2,6 percent per person.

Jens Martin Hoyer, the deputy chairman of the AOK Federal Association, said that the losses were manageable, but that the government’s extensive spending policy would have to be critically scrutinised in future, in order to bring expenditure back under control.

By Abi Carter