Practice fee: GPs reject proposal as “antisocial and ill-considered”
Berlin. The General Practitioners' Association categorically rejects the proposal to introduce a contact fee for patients in German medical practices. "This employers' proposal is not only antisocial, but also completely ill-conceived," said association chairwoman Nicola Buhlinger-Göpfarth to the "Rheinische Post."
Chronically ill patients would then have to pay the fee dozens of times a year. "This would place a complete financial burden on the socially disadvantaged, in particular," warned the head of the Association of General Practitioners. Such a fee would also prevent urgently needed doctor visits, with serious health consequences for patients, for example, because illnesses would be treated too late or preventive measures would not be implemented.
In light of rising additional health insurance contributions, Steffen Kampeter, the executive director of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations, had advocated for a contact fee for each doctor's visit. In Politico's "Berlin Playbook" podcast, he said such a fee could lead to greater patient control and curb "doctor hopping."
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Buhlinger-Göpfarth acknowledged that not all doctor-patient contacts are necessary. However, the answer is not general contact fees, but better patient management. This requires a primary care physician system. The primary care physician's office is always the first point of contact, and can consult additional specialists if necessary.
There had already been a practice fee. From 2004 to 2012, ten euros were charged for the first doctor's visit of the quarter. Among other things, politicians hoped that this would prevent people from going to the doctor for minor cases.
The German Foundation for Patient Protection opposed the re-introduction of a practice fee. Foundation board member Eugen Brysch told ZDFheute it was a "stale old story." The fee, abolished in 2012, had "no tax effect" and sometimes discouraged patients from seeking medical help in a timely manner. The administrative burden for practices was also high.
The service workers' union Verdi also sees contact fees as not contributing to better patient management. "They would further exacerbate the social imbalance in medical care," federal board member Sylvia Bühler told ZDFheute. Instead, a strong primary care system and sustainable concepts for care in rural areas are needed.
RND/dpa
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