Health card health insurance companies refuse payment

Electronic health card: health insurance companies refuse payment

07/01/2015

According to a media report, the central association of the statutory health insurance (GKV) turned off the money to the operators of the electronic health card (eGK). According to the Central Association are currently locked 57 million euros.

„The collar burst“
The operators of the electronic health card (eGK) was turned off by the central association of health insurance (GKV) the money. This has the spokesman of the GKV-Spitzenverbandes, Florian Lanz, on request of appearing in Dusseldorf „Rheinische Post“ (RP) confirmed. In their Wednesday edition Lanz justified the decision: „The board broke the collar. If insured funds are spent, something has to be done“. According to the top association are currently locked 57 million euros. Actually, the cash registers per year and member would have to transfer 1.09 € to the operating company Gematik.

Operation of the health card is not endangered
The reason for the blockade, according to RP, is the annoyance of the health insurance companies over doctors and other healthcare providers, who in their view have for years been delaying the establishment of a genuine health card with various functions such as storage of emergency data and patient records. On January 16, a board meeting will decide what to do next. The current operation of the health card is not endangered, as the company Gematik still has sufficient funds, according to the cash registers.

Ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Health
As „Mirror online“ reported, the coffers have also informed the Federal Ministry of Health about their step. According to the information, the officials of departmental chief Hermann Gröhe (CDU) are already working on a regulation to still condemn the statutory funds for payment to the operating company. The ministry says it is expected, „that the GKV-Spitzenverband behaves in conformity with the law and releases the budget for the Gematik upon entry into force of the ordinance“.

Provided functions of the health card are still missing
All legally insured persons in Germany must have an eGK since 1 January, which differs externally from the conventional health insurance card only by a photo of the insured person. The new card was originally to be introduced in 2006, so it comes nine years too late. There are still many missing functions. Among other things, it should - if the insured wishes so - contain data on allergies, blood type, diseases and drug prescriptions. It could also give doctors access to x-rays. As the RP writes, all these functions can not yet be called up because in particular the medical profession slowed down the project many times.

„Financial pain threshold“
The board of directors of the umbrella association had already expressed its opinion in the spring of 2014 and complained that the project threatened the „financial pain threshold“ and to ask the legislator to intervene. Around 800 million euros have been invested so far. The news of the denied payments should also reaffirm the critics of the health card. In the initiative „Stops the e-card“ have over 50 organizations, such as the Chaos Computer Club, the Free Medical Profession e. V. and the German AIDS-Hilfe together and call for the billion-dollar project eGK curb. (Ad)