If the federal government were to implement the proposed cuts suggested by its expert commission for general practitioners, Andreas Gassen, the head of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, warned that patients should expect significantly longer waiting times for specialist appointments. He stated that if politics fully adopts the commission’s reduction proposals, people might soon have to wait 50 days or more to see a specialist. Gassen noted that government figures indicated the average wait time for statutory insurance recipients in 2024 was 42 days, compared to 33 days in 2019 when the fee structures now under review by the commission were first introduced.
The head of the KBV argued that due to the existing cost ceiling, about 40 million specialist appointments are currently not reimbursed. He warned that if the add-on payments channeled through appointment service centers or general practitioners were eliminated, practices would only be able to offer appointments that were actually paid for. “40 million fewer appointments means that roughly every eleventh appointment disappears. Patients will notice that within a few weeks” he added. Gassen questioned the premise that his colleagues could simply continue operating if an entire billion euros were cut instead of covering all services rendered.
Gassen rejected the arguments put forward by the expert commission and the Federal Audit Office, who suggested that the add-on payment system had not benefited the insured individuals. He countered that physicians had offered significantly more appointments in recent years precisely because the added payments made it financially viable. However, he stated, “What we are experiencing is that the perceived need is far from settled. We treat one new patient, and already the next one is waiting for a quick appointment. And everyone naturally believes their concern is urgent” according to the physician. He concluded that it is impossible to satisfy-or rather, this subjective desire-for such demand.
Referring to the SPD faction leader Matthias Miersch’s demand for a three-week appointment guarantee, Gassen dismissed it as “nonsense”. Instead, he insisted that medical necessity, not arbitrary deadlines set by politics for appealing to voters, must determine appointment scheduling. Gassen advocated instead for a clear definition of what constitutes urgency. According to the KBV’s assessment, this “very small percentage” of appointments refers to those needing treatment within hours or a few days. “The large majority can medically afford to wait several weeks or even months. A person with back pain does not need an examination tomorrow if they have had the discomfort for three years” the KBV head explained.