Electronic health card soon duty

From January 2014, the new health card will be required

18/10/2013

As of 1 January 2014, insured persons must present the electronic health card with photo when visiting a doctor. „The validity of all old health insurance cards still in circulation thus ends - irrespective of the deadline stated on them - as of 31.12. 2013“, reports Franziska Becher from the IKK classic. Patients who do not have the new smart card after the deadline must reckon that the doctor will provide them with a private invoice for the services provided.

Electronic health card replaced old health insurance card
Currently, about 95 percent of those insured have received the new health card, which in the future could store not only patient master data but also other information such as prescribed medication or existing allergies. Whether insurers offer the additional functions for their insured, the insurers decide themselves.

To apply for the electronic health card (eGK), the health insurance company requires a current passport photo of the insured person. In this way, a misuse of the chip card is to be prevented. The passport requirement is valid for all insured persons over 15 years. Only persons who can not take part in the photo creation themselves, such as those in need of care, are excluded. Many cash registers offer the possibility to transmit the photo either by post or digitally.

Anyone who does not provide his health insurance company with a photo in good time will not have any proof of entitlement to medical benefits as of 1 January 2014. „If a valid proof of insurance is not submitted within ten days of treatment, the doctor is entitled to issue a private invoice and to demand compensation. The reimbursement of these costs is complicated and involves a considerable amount of extra work“, explains mug. (Ag)