SPD threatens doctors with sanctions

Disadvantage of cash patients: SPD threatens doctors with sanctions and prepares bill.

07.02.2011

The SPD plans sanctions against GPs who prefer to treat privately insured patients. The „Southgerman newspaper“ reports that the SPD parliamentary group is working on a bill to avoid discrimination against those insured in the future.

Among other things, the bill envisages penalizing physicians in private practice who have their legally insured patients wait too long for a treatment appointment „Southgerman newspaper“. Accordingly, fines of up to 25,000 euros and even the withdrawal of the cash register for two years provided for, if the legally insured patients are disadvantaged in the appointment.

Cash patients may not be disadvantaged by contract physicians
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach explained to the „South German newspaper“, that „Discrimination against statutory health insurance is incompatible with the activity as a contract doctor“ be. Therefore, physicians who violate the principle of equal treatment should be severely punished, the further rationale for the current bill. This is intended to oblige practicing physicians to primarily treat legally insured persons, which in the view of the SPD means that waiting periods of more than five working days are generally considered to be inappropriate. According to the bill, examinations that are not so frequently offered and that actually have capacity problems are an exception. If legally insured patients actually do not get an appointment, their health insurance will take care of the case and get the affected person an appointment. For this purpose, according to the bill, the health insurance companies will in future receive additional rights in order to be able to enforce these dates more easily.

Disadvantage of the cash patients discussed for a long time
For a long time, the discrimination of cash patients with doctors in private practice has been hotly debated in politics. For example, in the appointment, private patients are much better off. Due to the higher billing options for physicians, they usually receive an appointment immediately, whereas those insured by law often have to wait days sometimes for weeks. A condition that is no longer acceptable from the point of view of the SPD. The established physicians should as „contract doctors“ especially committed to the treatment of cash-desk patients, according to the criticism of the Social Democrats. However, the SPD does not only see a need for action on the part of physicians but also in hospitals.

Twin rooms as standard in clinics
Similar to the CDU health expert Jens Spahn, the SPD also advocates the introduction of twin rooms as a standard for all patients in German hospitals. Although three- or four-bed rooms should continue to be allowed according to the plans of the SPD, the clinics would receive less money from the health insurance companies for this purpose. The comparable approaches of the CDU have always failed because of the resistance of the coalition partner (FDP), so that the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach now the Union in this matter, the cooperation with the SPD offered. However, given the massive campaign sentiment that has already hit all political camps, this is likely to be more an outward-looking offer than a serious proposal for cooperation. (Fp)

Picture: Rainer Sturm