German Health Spending Shows More Rapid Growth

Spending by the German health funds increased more rapidly in third-quarter 1994 and the gap between the rates of spending growth and income growth widened, according to Health Ministry figures.

Spending per fund member in western Germany rose 6.7% over the same, year-earlier period, compared with a rise of 2.4% in basic wage rates on which contributions are calculated. Spending per member in first-half 1994 rose 6.4%, while basic wage rates went up 2.5%.

The public-sector funds reported a surplus of 517 million Deutschemarks ($328.8 million) in the first nine months of this year, but the local health funds, the OK, and the industrial funds, the BK, closed the nine-month period with deficits of 56 million and 333 million marks respectively. In contrast, the supplementary health funds, the EK, posted a surplus of almost 770 million marks.