Bahr health insurance companies should reimburse the practice fee

Health insurance creates practice fee

After the Hanseatic health insurance HEK announced to abolish the practice fee, the Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr calls on more funds to follow the positive example.

07/09/2012

The Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr (FDP) has praised the Hanseatic health insurance company HEK for using the surpluses to relieve the insured financially. Last week, HEK announced that it would reimburse cash register members for the dental practice retrospectively until the beginning of the year if they participated in a dental bonus program at the same time. Bahr asked other statutory health insurance companies to do the same at the same time. However, criticism came from the opposition. Bahr should act and abolish the practice fee, so the credo.

No practice fee for the dentist visit
As a first fund, the regionally anchored Hanseatic health insurance HEK will reimburse the practice fee for the visit to the dentist. By this step, the health insurance company refrains from taking this step to around 2.5 million euros per year. In order to benefit from the reimbursement, patients first have to pay the dentist's fee of 10 euros (we reported). On presentation of a bonus booklet and the practice fee receipt, the money will be transferred to the patient's account.

The Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr spoke positively about the decision of the HEK Kassenrat and at the same time invited further funds to take this step as well. "HEK is the first to pay the insured for the financial surpluses," said Bahr in an interview. The Minister of Health expects that further statutory health insurance will follow suit. In addition, the HEK has designed a program by further incentives for dental health were created.

Check visits to the dentist anyway without practice fee
Michael Rauschen, deputy managing director of the "Hartmannbund" medical association, clarified in an interview with the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" that "this is certainly not an automatic blueprint for the entire medical sector". "For example, the use of dental services in different ways is a different reality than other medical services," said Rauschen. For example, cash patients do not have to pay a practice fee to their dentist for two check-ups a year anyway. Only if additional therapies are necessary, the practice fee is due.

The practice fee was introduced to reduce unnecessary medical visits. But since its introduction, the number of visits to the doctor has not decreased, but has even increased. Instead, the additional fee has become a constant source of income for the health insurance companies. For a long time, therefore, many politicians demand the abolition of the fee.

Minister of Health should abolish practice fee itself
Instead of praising a single health insurance, "the Minister of Health Bahr should abolish the practice fees for all legally insured themselves," criticized the health politician of the faction "The Left" Harald Weinberg the "praise" of the Minister. Just 400,000 insured are affected by the de facto abolition, said Weinberg. "That's only about 0.5 percent of the insured and that only at the dentist." Instead of praising a health insurance, Bahr should act on his own. "Since March there has been a request from the LEFT to abolish the practice fee. As long as Bahr is already around. "But according to statements of the left politician, the FDP and the Union would vehemently refuse to handle the request of the left, in order to have it subsequently parliamentally voted. Therefore, the minister's behavior is "duplicitous populism". Either the minister himself takes the initiative or he defends the practice fee. Both are not possible, criticized the politician. (Sb)

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