Billions in costs for health insurance?

Billions in costs for health insurance? Chairwoman of the Barmer GEK, Birgit Fischer, and representatives of evidence-based medicine warn of the possible cause of billions in costs caused by the health policy of the black and yellow federal government

Media reports on measures at the IQWiG
After a report of the ARD magazine „monitor“ from the 7th of January 2010 with the title “Victory of the pharmaceutical lobby off for the pills TÜV?“ could that „Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG)“ in his work for more transparency and independent drug control.

The IQWiG was set up in 2004 by the red-green federal government in order to have medical services and, above all, medicines tested for their effectiveness by an independent institution. According to statements by „monitor“ has been the IQWiG since its foundation „Pharmaceutical industry and device manufacturers fiercely fought“, „because it has proven in many cases that expensive drugs have no relevant added value for the patients, but cause high costs for the health insurance companies.“

According to Monitor and an article by Spiegel Online "Doctors make for critical drug examiners strong," the critical institute is now also attacked by the black and yellow federal government. There then exists a paper titled „Key demands for a yellow health policy“, in which the CDU's leading health policy advocates restructuring the IQWiG.

Head of the institute gets support
The director of the institution, Peter Sawicki, is a well-known representative of a strictly scientific medicine, even beyond our borders. He is to be replaced after further media reports because of low to be estimated misstatements. On the other hand, there is resistance in the form of a petition from about 600 doctors who point out that it was Sawicki who gave the IQWiG recognition and reputation on the international stage. In addition, the petition sent to Health Minister Philipp Rösler and the IQWiG Board of Trustees points out that all medical science in Germany and the international network of the institute would be damaged.

Additional costs for our health system?
The question which many journalists are asking here is not only whether the profitability of German pharmaceutical companies is prior to the independent evaluation of medical services. Gerd Antes, founding member and board member of the German Network for Evidence-Based Medicine, spokesman for the initiative group for the establishment of a national registry for clinical trials and director of the Cochrane Institute at the University Hospital Freiburg, also speaks of Spiegel Online „significant loss of quality in the supply“ and especially that it „the health insurance companies could possibly cost billions“.

Birgit Fischer, the new chairman of the newly merged Barmer GEK (with approx „market leader“ under the statutory health insurance). Right at the beginning of her term of office, she points out the additional costs that would be caused by the introduction of the income-independent head lump sum at the will of the black-and-yellow federal government. According to her statements, Germany would have to raise at least 20 billion euros from taxpayers' money, if there is to be a social balance between multi-income and low-income earners.

It remains to be seen whether the decisions on the IQWiG and the capitation will be thoroughly reviewed by the decision-makers for this loss of quality and possible additional costs, and will then be corrected in case of doubt.
(Thorsten Fischer, Naturopath Osteopathy, 10.1.2010)

Further topics:
IQWiG: Is Peter Sawicki too critical?