Co-payments by statutory health insurance members for medications and hospital treatments have increased significantly in recent years. This information comes from the response of the Federal Ministry of Health to a written question from Left Party member of parliament Ates Gürpinar, which was made available to the AFP news agency on Monday. According to the data, annual co-payments by insured individuals rose from a total of €4.46 billion in 2021 to approximately €5.18 billion last year.
The largest portion in 2025 was accounted for by co-payments for pharmaceuticals, totaling over €2.6 billion. According to the federal government, this was followed by insured individuals' co-payments for remedial treatments (approximately €1 billion) and hospital treatments (€618 million). Co-payments for medical aids had the smallest share at €317 million.
Gürpinar also wanted to know how many statutory health insurance members have incomes above the contribution assessment ceiling. According to the response, this applied to approximately 5.8 million insured individuals in 2025. Currently, contributions to statutory health insurance (GKV) only need to be paid on income up to €5,812.50 per month or €69,750 per year.
The Left Party health politician also inquired about how many people switched from statutory to private health insurance (PKV). In 2024, this number was 183,500. This was offset by a switch of 105,200 people from PKV to GKV.
An expert commission recently appointed by the federal government presented a series of measures to relieve the deficit-ridden GKV. They also recommended higher co-payments for medications: these should increase from the current €5 to €7.50, with the maximum co-payment cap rising from the current €10 to €15.
Gürpinar sharply criticizes this proposal. "Already today, out-of-pocket costs, such as for necessary medications, burden many people," he told AFP. "Those particularly affected are those who have little or who are frequently and chronically ill." A further increase in co-payments would completely ignore their lived reality.
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