Basic healthcare insurance premiums are likely to rise by around €9.50 a month next year and the own risk element will also go up, the AD reports on Wednesday.

Sources close to the ongoing talks on next year’s government spending plans say the increase has been accepted by the ruling coalition and three opposition parties involved in the negotiations.

That would take the cost of health insurance to some €1,215 a year for adults – a rise of around 10%. There had been reports earlier that the premium rise would be in the region of €200 a year, the paper points out.

Home nursing

On top of that, the own risk element in health insurance may rise from €360 to €405 a year, the government’s macro-economic policy unit forecast in March.

The premium rise – which will be up to health insurance companies to determine – has two reasons, the AD says.

Firstly, the government is transferring responsibility for home nursing to local councils, and that means an increase in premiums. Secondly, employers are being compensated for paying too much towards their workers’ healthcare costs in the past.

At the same time, the cabinet is planning to cut health insurance benefits – currently around €70 a month – to people on low incomes.

The government’s 2015 spending plans will be presented to parliament on September 16.