Healthcare costs - Civil servants often wait a long time for money for medical bills
Application backlog at the welfare office: Public servants and pensioners in Hesse often have to wait several weeks for the state to process their reimbursement for medical and clinic costs. "The processing time is an average of 33 working days," Minister of the Interior Roman Poseck (CDU) informed the FDP Landtags opposition on a query. With weekends included, that's more than six weeks.
According to Poseck, the welfare office had processed an application as early as 2023 within 11 to 21 working days.
On the website of this cost reimbursement office, which is located at the Hessian state government presidium in Kassel, it was stated approximately on July 1: "We are currently processing applications that were submitted between May 3, 2024 and May 10, 2024." Currently, "there are extended processing times. We are working with the highest priority to reduce these times."
Unlike insured persons, civil servants must usually pay for medical treatments themselves first. They can then usually receive the money in parts from the welfare office and often from a private health insurance company upon request and submission of invoices.
Increasing number of applications
According to Minister Poseck, the number of applications at Hesse's welfare office has risen - from 656,000 in the year 2021 to 695,000 in the year 2022 to 760,000 applications in 2023. Regarding the financial contributions that also affect civil servants with lower salaries, Poseck added: "Eleven percent of the applications exceed the limit of 5,000 Euro. Here, priority processing is carried out, which is usually completed within ten working days."
It is the goal of the black-red state government, according to Poseck, "that the usual payment target of welfare recipients can be maintained at four weeks." This could be achieved through organizational improvements. For the future personnel planning in the welfare office, the government cannot yet provide concrete information due to the parliamentary consultations on the Hessian supplementary budget 2024 and the budget 2025.
- Roman Poseck, being a member of the CDU and the Minister of the Interior in Hesse, expressed concerns about the lengthy processing times for reimbursement applications from civil servants and pensioners, which can exceed six weeks.
- In an effort to alleviate delays, the welfare office in Kassel, headed by civil servants, has outlined an extension of processing times due to an influx of applications, with applications from May 3, 2024 to May 10, 2024 currently under review.
- Despite these challenges, there has been a significant increase in applications to the welfare office in Hesse, with the numbers rising from 656,000 in 2021 to 760,000 in 2023.
- In light of this rising application backlog, mental health remains a concern, as civil servants like Roman Poseck in Wiesbaden may experience stress and financial strain while waiting for reimbursement of their medical and clinic costs from the welfare office.
