Table 1.

Key elements of the health insurance schemes in the old insurance system compared with the new insurance system

	Old system		New system
	Social health insurance (ZFW)	Alternative private health insurance (PHI)	Private social health insurance
Insured people	People under a certain income ceiling (two-thirds of the population)	People above a certain income ceiling (one-third of the population)	The whole population
Mandatory/voluntary	Mandatory primary healthcare package and voluntary additional healthcare package	Voluntary	Mandatory primary healthcare package and voluntary additional healthcare package
Premium rating	Income-dependent (85%) and community rating (15%)	Dependent on the risk profile of the person requesting the insurance	Income-dependent (50%) and community rating (50%)
Benefits in kind/ benefits in cash	Benefits in kind	Benefits in cash	Insurers are allowed to offer both
Voluntary policy excess	No	Yes	Yes
Insurer choice	Those insured could change insurer and additional insurance product yearly, but in practice choice options were limited	Those insured could change insurer and insurance product yearly	Those insured can change insurer and additional insurance product yearly
Provider choice	Free choice among contracted providers	Free choice among all providers, but may receive only partial reimbursement	Free choice among all providers, but may receive only partial reimbursement