Jena, April 22, 2026. In the ongoing debate regarding rising insurance contributions and necessary savings in the healthcare system, there are frequent calls to reduce the number of statutory health insurance funds. A health scientist from Universitätsklinikum Jena (UKJ) is now opposing this popular demand and putting the actual cost ratios into perspective.
- Research: Verena Vogt, health scientist at Universitätsklinikum Jena
- Core Statement: Reducing the number of health insurance funds yields hardly any noticeable savings for the insured.
- Factual Situation: At 13.3 billion euros, administrative costs account for only four percent of total expenditures in statutory health insurance.
Administrative Costs as the Smallest Expenditure Item
Speaking to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa), Verena Vogt explained that the financial benefit of merging or abolishing health insurance funds is massively overestimated in public perception. Last year, the net administrative expenditures of all statutory funds amounted to approximately 13.3 billion euros. While this sounds like a significant amount, it corresponds to only about four percent of the immense total expenditures in the German health insurance system.
Conversely, this means that the vast majority of funds flow directly into medical care, medications, nursing services, and clinical infrastructure. According to Vogt, the sheer number of health insurance providers is therefore not the primary reason for rising costs. To achieve a real stabilization of contribution rates, more profound structural reforms would need to be considered, which do not merely target the administration of health insurance funds.
Background: Health Services Research at UKJ
Universitätsklinikum Jena (UKJ) in the Lobeda district is not only the largest hospital and employer in the region but also the only university hospital in Thüringen. An important scientific focus is on evidence-based health services research. Here, researchers use health data to analyze how efficiently and purposefully patients are cared for and which reforms at the federal political level can actually offer real added value for the healthcare system.
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Researcher from Jena: Number of funds is not the cost driver
Transparency Note: This article was automatically generated, editorially reviewed, and expanded with AI support.