Doctors chief suggests paywall for faster specialist appointments

Andreas Gassen, head of the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung, has suggested that statutory insurance patients may soon have to pay out of pocket to secure faster specialist appointments. According to reports from Tagesschau and taz, Gassen made these remarks in an interview with the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland. The proposal follows planned fee cuts for doctors, which Gassen claims amount to three billion euros.

Criticism from politicians and health funds

The proposal has faced immediate rejection from political figures and health organisations. Vice-Chancellor and SPD leader Lars Klingbeil stated at an event in Potsdam that such a proposal is not to be had with them, as statutory patients should not have additional costs, according to taz. Janosch Dahmen, the health policy spokesperson for the Green Party parliamentary group, warned that this model creates a payment barrier where those who pay come within hours while those relying on insurance must wait. Dahmen warned that this could establish a new three-tier care system alongside existing two-tier medicine.

The association of statutory health insurance funds also criticised the move. Deputy chair Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis accused the KBV of taking insured patients who need a doctor hostage so doctors can increase their fees, noting that resident doctors earn an average of over 200,000 euros a year. Furthermore, SoVD board chair Michaela Engelmeier described the proposal as highly unsolidary and socially unjust, stating it would particularly affect low-income individuals and the chronically ill who depend on reliable medical care.

Context of austerity and fee cuts

The debate is framed by an austerity package for statutory health insurance passed in July with measures set for 2027. Tagesschau reports that this package includes spending brakes for practices, clinics, pharmacies, and the pharmaceutical industry, as well as higher co-payments for medication and restrictions on free co-insurance for spouses.

Gassen stated that statutory patients who choose this option will be treated outside of statutory insurance like a private patient while covering the costs out of pocket. He argued that practices cannot be expected to continue as before given the cuts, which he claims affect areas such as ear, nose, and throat medicine, orthopaedics, cardiology, radiology, and rheumatology where specialist groups lose part of their turnover.

The KBV states that the removal of the bonus for faster appointment scheduling introduced under the 2019 Terminservice- und Versorgungsgesetz results in a loss of about 1.64 billion euros in fees for practices. According to Tagesschau, the Federal Court of Audit noted in February that despite billions in extra spending, the previous measures had failed to reduce waiting times.

This piece was generated automatically by an AI model from the sources listed below. It has not been reviewed by a human editor.

Sources

• Arzttermin gegen Bezahlung - warum der Vorstoß für Empörung sorgt — Tagesschau
• Empörung über Vorstoß zu Facharzttermin: Klingbeil gegen zusätzliche Kosten für Kassenpatienten — taz