Treatment by practices for non-insured

Health economist reports false incentives by practices for people without health insurance

04/07/2014

People without health insurance are particularly dependent on humanitarian assistance from volunteer doctors offering a free examination and treatment. According to the health economist, these practices for uninsured people form Professor Mathias Kifmann of the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg in front of the news agency „dpa“ an essential element from a social point of view. But they would also put inappropriate incentives.

In the practices for people without health insurance, the humanitarian approach comes first. „There, many people are helped for free“, stressed Professor Kifmann. For the needy, the corresponding practices are often the only starting point for health problems. But the other side of the coin is that some are abusing this offer to keep their own costs in check. „A side effect is that these practices are always available to people who may not need it“, explained Kifmann. In particular, some self-employed, who are economically poor, but who are not really in need, increasingly use the free offer.

As with all free offers are more unwanted deadweight also in the practices for people without health insurance to watch. This raises the question of how access to practices can be more strictly limited to the needy, without overstating the barriers. Because by no means needy should be excluded from the existing offers, but the people abuse this particular voluntary benefit of the doctors is also not acceptable. (Fp)