- The degree of satisfaction of officials with their health insurance is 7.6 points out of 10
- The mutual societies of the officials and the administration are in negotiations to renew the contract
The private health insurance They are on the rise, as we have already told on Rastreator. Among all the sectors where this type of healthcare is growing is that of civil servants. This is the conclusion reached in the report Uses and attitudes of civil servants towards private health insurance prepared by the independent research agency 40dB.
The agency interviewed 1,925 officials during the month of June 2024 in order to prepare the report indicating that they prefer the private health insurance. This way, 8 out of 10 mutual members surveyed opt for private coverage through its mutuality, “which highlights a clear preference for this modality over the public system”, chosen by only 17.3% of those surveyed, emerges from the study.
These officials, who mostly belong to MUFACE, ISFAS and MUGEJU, assure that their degree of satisfaction with their private health insurance is “very high”, with an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. Specifically, SegurCaixa Adeslas and DKV both obtain a score of 7.6, closely followed by Asisa, with a rating of 7.5 out of 10.
Furthermore, the report indicates that 75% of those who currently prefer public health coverage would consider switch to private health insurance in the future. Most respondents who do not have private insurance reject it because they live near health centers and hospitals.
Furthermore, the report indicates that, among civil servants who currently do not have private health insurance, those with a higher educational level are much more likely to opt for private insurance in the future (81.9%) in contrast to respondents with a lower educational level (66.4%).
The speed and freedom to choose a specialist, the keys to your choice
Another important point that the study highlights is the permanence of the mutualists, and that is that most do not want to change companies nor is it considered taking out additional insurance. According to the 40dB report, the degree of permanence of the mutual members surveyed with their chosen private health insurance is “very high.”
In fact, it is highlighted that, among men, 69.5% of those who have chosen SegurCaixa Adeslas have been with the company for five or more years. Likewise, 59.1% of those who chose Asisa have been with it for more than five years, and 54.4% of those who chose DKV have been with said company for more than five years.
Furthermore, 53.4% of those surveyed are not considering changing the company with which they currently have private health insurance. Likewise, 53% do not consider the possibility of contracting additional health insurance to the one they already have.
Regarding the reasons why civil servants choose private health insurance, more than 82% of mutual members indicated the speed in obtaining and managing appointments for clinical consultations or analyzes and the freedom to choose specialists as the main reasons. They also highlighted the agility in emergency care and the personalized and close attention. Specifically, it is the mutual members insured with SegurCaixa Adeslas who most highlight the speed in obtaining specialist appointments (60.4%) as one of the main reasons for their choice.
On the other hand, among the most valued aspects of private health insurance are the freedom of choice of specialists (7.9 out of 10), the ease of managing appointments and analyzes (7.8 out of 10), and the speed of emergency care (7.7 out of 10).
The report also highlights that mutual members with children are, in general, more satisfied with the different services. The most used services in private health insurance are tests such as blood tests, allergy tests, diagnostic imaging, and obstetrics and gynecology. In addition, mutualists also spontaneously mention specialties such as general medicine, endocrinology, ophthalmology, urology, otorhinolaryngology and gastroenterology.
About a third have used new therapies or innovative treatments. The use of innovative therapies or new therapies is slightly higher among SegurCaixa Adeslas mutual members than among the rest of the private insurers.
It must be remembered that the mutual model was established in Spain in 1975 and from that moment on, officials can choose between a public or private provider to receive health care. In December, the current MUFACE agreement concludes and both the mutual societies and the administration are in negotiations to maintain the current model, which will need an injection of 900 million euros per year for its survival.
Calculate Health InsuranceWritten by:
Journalist specialized in economic information, mainly in motor and car and motorcycle insurance. Lidia has a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and also has a Master’s Degree in Radio from the UCM and National Radio of Spain.