Comment: Private health insurance customers must be able to plan better
Self-employed individuals have fluctuating income, and rising health insurance contributions are an additional burden. The federal government should ensure that they are more predictable.
My parents have been working as self-employed individuals since I could remember. A lesson I learned early on: Just because the workload calendar is full doesn't mean there will be a lot of money left at the end of the month. Most of the time, the jobs don't go well throughout the year. Sometimes, there's a lot coming in, sometimes less, and sometimes clients take longer than expected to pay their bills.
My father was a graphic designer, and I sometimes wonder how he would fare with the rise of AI. An AI can't replace a graphic designer with original ideas, I believe. However, getting more jobs today seems unlikely. Bills for rent, taxes, and health insurance still need to be paid. Self-employed individuals must therefore save money in good months for the leaner ones, which sounds obvious in practice, but sometimes isn't.
For many, next year may be a test of endurance. More than half of those with private full insurance must prepare for higher contributions, which according to the Association of Private Health Insurers, will increase by an average of 13.4 percent.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
