Ahead of the Bundestag vote, the top association of statutory health insurances has strongly criticized the planned abolition of the fee cap for family doctors proposed by the former coalition parties SPD, Greens and FDP. “This law is designed in such a way that family doctors will definitely receive an additional 400 million euros in fees, even if there is not a single additional doctor’s appointment” said the deputy association chief Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (Thursday editions).
Through the planned de-budgeting, additional money will be distributed to family doctors like a watering can. “An improvement in the care will not even be achieved in socially disadvantaged urban areas or rural regions, as necessary control mechanisms are lacking” lamented the association representative. “For 75 million statutory health insurance policyholders, health insurance premiums have reached a record high and the government is reacting to this by increasing fees for family doctors” criticized Stoff-Ahnis.
The impression arises that the gravity of the situation is still not being recognized, Stoff-Ahnis said. To improve care in socially disadvantaged urban areas or rural regions, “targeted measures are needed, not a blanket fee increase” for all family doctors, “regardless of where their practice is located” she warned.