Faced with long waits for specialist appointments among statutory insurance holders, the board of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, led by Eugen Brysch, is demanding that intermediation fees be abolished.
Brysch told the “Rheinische Post” that the “good intention” to enable quicker bookings has been undermined by service providers, arguing that Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) should put an end to the “money‑printing machine”. The issue stems from general practitioners receiving extra payments for arranging specialist appointments.
He criticized the minister’s lack of resolve: “While additional contributions are spiraling up, the minister shows no courage to eliminate these irrational fees. This lets both generalists and specialists continue profiting from the appointment‑setting process”.
The “Rheinische Post” earlier reported that in 2024 statutory insured patients waited an average of 42 days for a specialist appointment, up from 33 days in 2019. At the same time, annual statutory health‑insurance expenditures for open physician consultations have risen sharply.