Health insurance companies file lawsuits against the federal government

2025/11/30 08:10:54

Even those who don’t go to work have statutory health insurance. The federal government covers the costs – at least that’s the theory. The health insurance association complains that they are stuck with the costs, so that employees and employers have to pay for them. They want to take action against it all the way to Karlsruhe.

The individual health insurance companies have commissioned the National Association of Statutory health Insurance Funds to take legal action. The core of the dispute is the financing of health insurance for those who are not employed – including those receiving unemployment benefits, and those in vocational training.

According to the health insurance funds, the federal government is not adequately covering the costs for these individuals, resulting in a shortfall of billions of euros. This shortfall is then passed on to employed individuals and employers through higher contributions.

“It can’t go on like this!” said a spokesperson for the national association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds. “We are being forced to cover costs that are legally the responsibility of the federal government.”

The health insurance funds are initially filing lawsuits with the social courts. If these are unsuccessful, they intend to appeal to the Federal Social Court (Bundessozialgericht) and, ultimately, to the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) in Karlsruhe. They argue that the current situation violates the principle of solidarity in the health insurance system.

[Image of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds logo with caption: The individual health insurance companies commission the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds to take legal action. (Photo: picture alliance/dpa/GKV-spitzenverband)]