Family doctor association insists on system change

Dispute between AOK and family doctor association

Doctors' Association insists on system change: After the immediate termination of the family doctor contracts on the part of the AOK insists the Bavarian Association of General Practitioners on the demand for a system change. An end to the conflict between the health insurance fund and the medical association is not in sight.

17.12.2010

Yesterday, the general local health insurance AOK announced the termination of the family doctor agreement between the Bavarian family doctors association (BHÄV) and the cash register without notice. A few weeks earlier, the medical association had announced its intention to call the medical profession to give the approval for the health insurance at the beginning of 2011 in protest. The AOK has responded to this announcement in turn with drastic means and unceremoniously announced the family doctor contracts. One had to resort to this means, because the BHÄV again a „breach of the law“ in which he calls his members to exit the POS system.

Despite this drastic measure, the Bavarian family doctor association remains to renegotiate its claim on the fees. As the deputy BHÄV chairman Dr. Ing. Wolfgang Krombholz said yesterday, the termination by the AOK does not change the core demands of the association. The medical association continues to call for securing a long-term wage agreement, planning security for the future, and renewed fee-based negotiations „at eye level“, so the medical representative. The controversy was only started because "we do not believe in the statutory protection until mid-2014 for the GP contracts," argued the BHÄV vice.

The sounds in the argument have clearly increased in severity. For the AOK it is „impossible and unreasonable“ to cooperate with an association ", which behaves unlawfully in central questions of social legislation, calls others to break the law, in addition also wants to force the contractor under threat of illegal system exit to a new contract and also publicly vilified," said Dr. Helmut Platzer of the AOK Bayern. It was also warned before the termination of the family doctors association to resort to such means, if one continues to propagate the system exit.

Meanwhile, other medical associations solidarise with the BHÄV. The general practitioners' association in Baden-Württemberg and Medi in a joint statement said their support to the Bavarian colleagues. According to Dr. Berthold Dietsche, Chairman of the Baden-Wuerttemberg family doctors association, and Dr. med. Werner Baumgärtner, chairman of Medi, must now approach the AOK on the medical association and start negotiations. In addition, both associations called on their members to show solidarity. In particular, this applies to the family doctors who are active in the adjacent regions to Bavaria. These should not undermine the decisions of the Bavarian colleagues. The press release of the two organizations states: "We will ask our members not to be available for a transitional provision from Bavaria". „We will not absorb the shortcomings of medical care, for which politicians and health insurances are responsible, in Baden-Württemberg“, Dietsche and Baumgärtner agree. „With her threatening gestures against the Bavarian family doctors and the HÄV shows the AOK Bayern, that they do not want the family doctor contract and even goes so far as to overrule legal provisions in SGB V.“, so Dietsche and Baumgärtner on. Both also sharply criticized the AOK threat to cut final quarterly payments by some 16 million euros.

The AOK now counters in an equally sharp manner. One can not allow AOK insured to become the "plaything of the power politics ambitions of the BHÄV" Platzer. It wants to inform its 2.6 million members exactly and comprehensively. The association of family doctors wanted to force the AOK with their actions, "to force a new family doctor contract based on the Civil Code (BGB) and to the exclusion of the Social Code". But one can only conclude contracts with doctors who do not want to give it back to the company. According to Platzer, "The conclusion of a new contract with physicians who have collectively waived admission is not possible under the Social Code".

For the patients, this dispute initially means a few restrictions for some health services. Although AOK health insured can still claim their family doctor, however, patients now have to pay the full practice fee again, which was previously exempt from the regulations. Also the annual health check falls away for the time being.

For many insured the dispute currently seems absurd. Without being involved in the matter, many do not understand what it is all about. As always, it's all about money. The medical associations are of the opinion that the tariffs in the current form will not be sufficient to ensure medical care in the future as well. The AOK believes that the negotiated contracts are sufficient. How the conflict develops depends on both parties. (Sb)

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