AOK boss problem with medical oversupply

Are there too many doctors in Germany??

AOK chief: „Problem with medical oversupply“. According to the health insurance association chairman, there is no shortage of doctors in Germany but rather the problem of an unequal regional distribution.

06/12/2010

Unlike the Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler (FDP), who recently predicted a shortage of doctors for Germany, Herbert Reichelt, head of the health insurance AOK can not recognize such a shortcoming, but sees more of a distribution problem as the cause of possible undersupply. „We have a problem with medical oversupply“, so the provocative thesis of the chairman of the board of the AOK-Bundesverband.

Like the AOK boss talking to the daily paper „The world“ As explained above, there is a tendency in the cities to over-supply with doctors, while in rural areas in some cases a corresponding shortage of doctors is observed. Especially in large cities and in their immediate vicinity, there are many more doctors than are necessary for medical care, explained Reichelt. For example, give it „in Freiburg or Munich (...) more than a third of family doctors too much“, said the AOK boss „The world“ and the expert supplemented: „So we have a distribution problem“ and no general lack of doctors. The shortage of doctors in the country, however, can only be remedied in the opinion of Herbert Reichelt, „at the same time reducing oversupply in the cities“. In the cities, the money is spent on the oversupply, which would actually be needed to supply the rural population, said the chairman of the board of the AOK Federal Association. „As long as doctors can continue to settle in over-supplied areas, hardly anyone voluntarily goes to the countryside“, so the conclusion of Reichelt. Therefore, in the opinion of the AOK chief, the shortage of doctors in rural areas should also be addressed by reducing the number of practice admissions in the city. The aim should be to reduce the number of practices in the over-served areas in the long term, and in turn to build capacity in the underserved areas.

The numbers of the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung, which come to the conclusion that nationwide 3,600 doctors would be needed, were very generously calculated, Herbert Reichelt also said in an interview „The world“. Because „you need so many doctors“, according to Reichelt, „to reach the limit of oversupply everywhere in Germany“. „That can not be the standard“ emphasized the AOK boss further. In order to achieve Reichel's intended redistribution of existing medical capacity, the AOK leader believes that doctors' practices should be closed in cities. H. the number of practice admissions is reduced. For example, doctors' practices that should be sold for reasons of age could be closed instead. Since the practice sale to successors is considered an essential component of the retirement of established physicians, he could „Imagine that doctors who stop in over-supplied areas for reasons of age, get some kind of compensation for their practice“, Reichelt explained.

This would allow a reduction of medical practices in the cities while ensuring the retirement of those affected, said the head of the AOK. According to Herbert Reichelt, the severance payment could be financed from the existing fee volume. In this way, the number of medical practices in the cities would be reduced and the settlement of doctors in rural areas accelerated, Reichelt continued. However, other models like the use of specially trained „community nurses“ and the stronger involvement of hospitals to expand medical care in rural areas conceivable in the opinion of the AOK chief. „In general, the planning of medical care needs to be changed. It must be more geared to the medical needs of the population“, stressed Herbert Reichelt.

Herbert Reichelt also commented on the care reform planned for the coming year by the CDU, CSU and FDP „The world“. The head of the AOK was excited about the proposals for the sustainable financing of long-term care insurance, since the Christian-liberal government has already announced that it will cover parts of the supply in a funded way. The long-term care insurance is not in acute financial difficulties, „but the financial reserves are expected to last only until spring 2014“, Reichelt explained. Subsequently, it will have to come to a moderate contribution increase, the AOK boss continues. In his view, there are doubts about the funding proposals as the underlying financial crisis has called in question the potential benefits of a funded scheme. With regard to future increases in contributions Reichelt stated: „As the number of people in need of care increases, premium increases are inevitable in the long run“. While CDU / CSU and FDP also want to discuss whether the employer's contribution to the contributions should be frozen within the framework of the Pflegereform, Reichelt sees clear advantages in the current joint contribution model. „The involvement of employers strengthens the system“, explained the AOK boss. (Fp)

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