BERLIN, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- If Germany unified its dual private and government-regulated public health insurance system, the public health insurance system would gain an estimated 9 billion euros (9.8 billion U.S. dollars) annually, according to a study published by the Bertelsmann Foundation on Monday.
The dual German system is unique in Europe, the study noted. Civil servants and self-employed people are mostly privately insured, while most employees are covered by statutory health insurance.
Around 73 million people in Germany are covered by statutory health insurance, while nearly nine million are privately insured, according to the German Health Insurance Alliance (vdek).
Citizens enrolled in statutory health insurance pay "more than necessary each year so that high-income earners, civil servants and the self-employed can escape the solidarity compensation scheme," said the Bertelsmann Foundation's health expert, Stefan Etgeton.
Because of the resulting lower fees, German citizens with statutory health insurance could save 145 euros per year on average if the privately insured paid into a statutory health insurance system, according to the study conducted by the Berlin-based IGES institute on behalf of the Bertelsmann Foundation.
The German Association of Private Health Insurers (PKV) responded that "Bertelsmann's 145-euro illusion" was based on the assumption that there would be no replacement for the additional revenues from private health insurance for doctors.
The PKV noted that each doctor's practice in Germany would lose over 54,000 euros per year on average, waiting times would be "drastically" increased and the "quality of care for all patients" would deteriorate.
