Health insurance against family doctors strike

Health insurance companies criticize family doctors strike

(10.08.2010) The general practitioners' association wants to be serious, the first actions against the health care reform are already planned. The 15th of September is supposed to be the prelude. On this day, there will be a nationwide protest and tens of thousands of medical practices remain closed. The planned actions of the doctors are proving fierce criticism not only from the ranks of the federal government. The health insurance companies criticize the planned closures of GP surgeries. The strike would be at the expense of the patients.

Protest against planned fee reductions in the family doctors.
The German Association of General Practitioners announced to the doctors newspaper to launch at the end of August, the first actions against the austerity measures at the doctors fees. Initially, from the end of August until the end of September, practical closures will take place at the local level. In addition, nationwide protests should be held. On September 15, according to the Medical Association, a nationwide action will be taken. One day later, the 33rd German House Doctor's Day will take place.

Sharp criticism from the side of the health insurance and federal government.
The statutory health insurance have absolutely no understanding of the planned physicians strikes. So the deputy Barmer boss Rolf Ulrich Schlenke criticized the medical strike as "out of place". Also for the chairman of the German employees health insurance DAK, Herbert Rebscher, the doctors protests are "incomprehensible". According to Rebscher, the protest will be carried out on patients' backs in order to assert professional interests. After all, all those involved in health care are affected by the austerity measures, because you could exclude any professional group, so the DAK chief.

No understanding of the planned protests showed the health spokesman for the Union Group. Jens Spahn (CDU) criticized that the family doctors association had "out of tune in tone". While it is the doctors' right to protest and to assert their interest, all those involved in the health care system should make their contribution to stabilization. Finally, a billion dollar deficit in the health fund is expected for the coming year. According to Spahn, doctors and GPs would also have to save money.

Why are the family doctors protesting??
The doctors strike against the planned cuts in the special allowances of the family doctor contracts. According to the will of the Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler (FDP) alone in this area about 500 million euros to be saved. This means that the doctor's fees should initially not continue to increase.

The family doctor association accuses the black-yellow coalition, she wanted to pry the "family doctor model" from. The „Family doctor centered care“ was introduced in 2007 to make GPs the first port of call for the patient. The family doctor coordinates all treatment steps and gives referrals to specialists. The so-called family doctor model has been introduced in order to minimize unnecessary specialist visits, so that the treatment of patients happens to be more direct. The „Family doctor-centered supply“ is described in § 73b SGB V.

However, Rössler recently confirmed that he did not want to touch the family doctor model. However, the health minister wants to enforce that all primary care physicians are treated equally, regardless of whether a doctor has already concluded a family doctor contract or not. The GP's Association wants to protest against this new regulation. (Sb)

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