Doctors are in favor of reimbursement

Healthcare reform: Doctors claim reimbursement

Regardless of increasing criticism, the Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler (FDP) insists on his plan to introduce the model of reimbursement in the future. The doctors praise the Minister of Health for it, because they hope for higher fees. Criticism comes mainly from the ranks of consumer protection and the health insurance companies.

Similar to private health insurance, the FDP Minister Rösler wants to introduce reimbursement at every visit to a doctor. Insured persons should pay in advance at every visit to the doctor and submit their bills to their health insurance company only at the end of the year. The principle should be voluntary, as the minister emphasized. But consumer advocates fear that this will introduce a three-tier medicine. Completely different see the doctors associations. They are demonstratively behind the plans. The Chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Andreas Köhler, did indeed call the plans on Friday „profoundly“, but an essential step to control healthcare spending.

The reimbursement model should start next year
After the large and already largely passed by the federal government health reform, the Minister of Health wants to tackle the project. But before that, according to a spokesman for the ministry, one wants to reform the doctors' fees. Only then should a „serious accounting system“ be passed for insured. With a change in the law, Philipp Rösler wants patients „motivate“ to pay an invoice at every visit to the doctor. The costs should then get the insured back at their health insurance. „It is and remains voluntary, no one is forced to do so“, as a speaker of the Federal Minister of Health stressed on Friday.

Medical associations were entirely in favor of such a reform. Patients would be more responsible for what they said. A new model of co-payment or reimbursement could address the problem of unlimited demand for medical outpatient health services. „Only then will it be possible to come down from the high number of doctor visits a year“, argued physicians chief Andreas Köhler. Only then could it be achieved that the high number of sometimes unnecessary visits to the doctor is reduced.

Health insurance against medical bills
But the doctors argue here disinterestedly? This question is also the health insurance. „If you now hear how loud the medical representatives call for reimbursement, then all the alarm bells must ring“, criticized the health insurance Federal Association spokesman Florian Lanz. Lanz rejects the advance payment with each visit to the doctor and thus the model of reimbursement. Opposite the „image“ Deputy AOK chairman Jürgen Graalmann said that the model can not solve any problems of the health care system. It only unsettles the patients and „brings more administrative overhead to all“.

In case of a reimbursement, doctors could charge their fees directly to the insured, regardless of whether the health benefits are actually reimbursed by the health insurance companies later. Because often the health insurance companies do not pay for certain services if the doctors are not qualified for it. In the general daily routine of treatment, this happens relatively often, as treatments of different disciplines overlap. The patients then have the disadvantage, because they then stay on the costs, as criticized by the Federal Association of Consumer Protection. So it could quickly happen that many insured are insecure because they no longer look through the different health services. So then each treatment would first have to be negotiated with the cashier.

Further additional contributions are not excluded
Despite the increases in contributions from the coming year, insured persons will be able to make additional contributions in 2011, despite all the protestations made by the Minister of Health. So said the chairman of the Federal Association of statutory health insurance, Doris Pfeiffer to the Inforadio „rbb“, that overall, a stable financial situation at the health insurance companies is assumed. However, it could be at some health insurance in especially expensive cities through financial gaps more additional contributions. For this reason, further structural reforms are necessary, especially in hospitals. (sb, 02.10.2010)

Also read:
Cash registers: additional contributions 2011 not excluded
Rösler plans payment in advance at the doctor's visit
Private health insurance: Worth a change?

Picture credits: Claudia Hautumm