Rösler has no sympathy for family doctor protests

The Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler shows no understanding for the protests of family doctors. The doctors fall on deaf ears with the minister.

(16.09.2010) The Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler (FDP) shows no sympathy for the protests of family doctors. Yesterday, the doctors had closed their practices in protest at the health care reform. As Rösler said on Wednesday in Berlin: "It is not about that we want to cut fees, but we want to limit increases." The medical association is protesting against the health reform and for higher fees.

The Minister of Health Rösler shows no understanding of the protests.
In the opinion of the Minister of Health, there will be more money for general practitioners next year. The higher compensation for the controversial family doctor contracts should also be possible in 2011. The black-yellow coalition plans, however, also to save the additional expenditure, for example, in the drug regulations again. Right from the beginning, this was provided for in the draft bill on health care reform, Rösler argued. Already agreed family doctor contracts continued to have a grandfathering, it should not change in the future. For this reason, the FDP minister shows no sympathy for the protests of the doctors: "So not every protest is fully explained to me."

Rösler accuses the family physicians' association to split the doctors in Germany with the practice closures and the protests. Because during the protests, the position of general practitioners would be explicitly addressed. Thus the minister of health said: "It is important that not individual physicians play the family doctors among themselves or the general practitioners against the specialists." Because not only specialists and general practitioners earn differently good or bad, but also family doctors. Because a large number of family doctors have completed the family doctor contracts, but some would be remunerated according to the normal fees for doctors.

Increase in the family doctor's costs should be prohibited by law.
The Minister wants to prohibit an increase in family doctor costs by law, by the fee increases are limited. In the opinion of Rösler, higher doctors' fees would only be acceptable if they were compensated for by increasing efficiency and saving, for example when prescribing medicines. But that's exactly what the doctor's protest turned to. According to the family doctors association even 120,000 patients are said to have made strong for their family doctor and voted against the reform plans of Federal Health Minister Rösler in a signature list. "The doctors want to set a signal," said the chairman of the Hessian family doctors Association Dieter Conrad on Tuesday. "Such a shortage could be part of everyday life in five years." The family doctor association accuses the black-yellow coalition namely, 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. Due to the savings plans in the course of the health care reform, many doctors see their financial existence threatened.

How much do doctors actually earn?
But is the protest really legitimate or a "whining at a high level"? The remuneration of doctors and psychotherapists increased between 2007 and 2009 by 11 percent, as an evaluation of the statutory health insurance (SHI) revealed. The evaluation has also shown that the fees of doctors in the last three years rose much more than average salaries in Germany. However, the increase in doctors' fees also depends on the federal state of practice. In Hamburg, the doctors earned on average up to 24 percent. In Lower Saxony, the doctors recorded an average increase of 20 percent. In other states, on the other hand, fee increases were significantly lower on average. Thus, the fees in Baden-Württemberg rose only by 3.5 percent, in Bavaria, only by 2.6 percent. According to the health insurance association GKV, a doctor with his own practice earns on average around 164,000 a year.

Rösler is currently putting the top association of health insurance companies and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians under massive pressure. They should participate in the doctors' fees negotiations and agree. On 24 September, ie 2 days after the Federal Cabinet's planned decision on health care reform, the health insurances and physicians resume negotiations for the approximately 150,000 GPs in the Evaluation Committee.

Will there be more closures from doctor's offices?
Tonight the general practitioners' association will give a press conference and comment on the allegations of the minister. In addition, the state of implementation of the contracts should § 73b SGB V and a review of the nationwide day of action within the campaign „Röslerol“ occur. It is expected that further protests of the association will follow. (Sb)

Also read:
Soon deaths due to lack of doctors?
Strong increase in doctors' fees
Health insurance against family doctors strike

Chris Beck