Warning of electronic health card

Health insurance card warning: Health insurance funds criticize the plans of the Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler to introduce an electronic health card. The Minister should urgently drop the plans, so the warning of the Central Association of health insurance.

According to media reports, the Federal Minister of Health Philipp Rösler (FDP) plans to introduce an electronic health card for health insurance patients. Loud „World Online“ Rösler wants to force the health insurances to distribute the health card to at least ten percent of the health insurance plan by the end of the year 2011. Otherwise, the health insurance companies face severe penalties that could go into the million if they refused or did not implement the plans on time.

The chairman of the umbrella organization of health insurances (GKV) Doris Pfeiffer accuses the Minister of Health uneconomic action. The threatened fines in the millions are completely unacceptable and disproportionate. In addition, a real chaos in medical practices threaten, because not all practices have a corresponding reader. Should Rösler still want to implement his plans by all means, the patients would be the victims. Because then a large number of insured persons would find doctors' practices that do not have such a reader. For this reason, only the solution would be taken into consideration that those affected always carry two health insurance cards with them.

New requirements make the new health card worthless
In addition, it is not excluded that the requirements would change even further. At least then the new health cards are worthless. According to the GKV Verband, this will cost about 50 million euros. If health insurances can not meet the requirements of the Minister of Health, maximum penalties of about 178 million euros are imminent. If the affected funds would pay the penalty, more jobs would have to be reduced. The former Advisor to the former Federal Health Minister Ulla Schmidt (SPD) recently criticized that the electronic health card will be "economically (...) a minus business, which ultimately have to pay the insured" must. Despite the increase in the general contribution rate of the statutory health insurance many cash funds fear that they can not get along with the financial resources. The obligation to introduce an electronic health card will once again aggravate the situation. (sb, 06.11.2010)