New e-health card Many thousands have none

Health card: hundreds of thousands still have old health insurance card

12/30/2013

From the first of January 2014, health insured persons must use the new electronic health card (eGK) when visiting a doctor. However, hundreds of thousands of Germans who still have the old health insurance card do not have to worry about being rejected in practice.

Modernization of health insurance
At the beginning of 2014, the electronic health insurance card (eGK) replaces the old health insurance card. In 2003, the red-green government under Gerhard Schröder decided to modernize the statutory health insurance and thus the end of the old insurance card. In 2011, the first electronic health cards were issued, with the old cards remaining valid. But that ends in 2014. Then only the new chip card with photo of the insured is valid.

Hundreds of thousands still with an old map
According to the information provided by the big box office associations, around 95 percent of those insured received the eGK. The missing five percent, an estimated few hundred thousand German citizens, but so far only have the old health insurance card. Especially for this part of the population many questions and answers about the electronic health card are still open. According to the information provided by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, those who are not yet in possession of an eGC can use the old card provided it is still valid from the imprint. These can still be read in and services billed.

Transitional period until 1 October
However, the deputy spokeswoman of the GKV-Spitzenverband, Ann Marini, points out that it depends on the complacency of the individual doctor: „If the doctor says he accepts the old card, then it works. The patient is not entitled to it.“ However, this possibility only exists until the first of October 2014. „After that, the problem should no longer exist, because then everyone should have an eGC.“ This agreement between health insurances and health insurance physicians is now controversial. Unlike the insurers, the physicians assume that the old cards are still valid until their respective printed validity date. The Federal Ministry of Health has asked both sides for clarification.

Doctor can charge costs privately
Basically, in case of problems, a replacement procedure is possible, which also runs, for example, lost insurance cards. In this case, the patient could submit a valid proof of insurance or the eGK within ten days after treatment, so that the doctor settles the cash directly as usual. If this deadline is not met, the doctor will charge the treatment costs privately to the insured person. The latter can only reimburse the costs for the already paid invoices by the doctor if he submits a corresponding proof of insurance by the end of the respective quarter.

Use of the new card in question
Already, the introduction of the electronic health card has cost about 728 million euros, with no real benefit for the insured, as many critics say. One of the novelties of the card is that it bears the owner's photograph. Also located on the back of the „European Health Insurance Card“, which can be used for treatments in other EU countries. In the future, the integrated chip of the eGK could be used to transmit medical data via a separate electronic network between doctors' practices, if the patient agrees. (Ad)