Lauterbach wants to combat the shortage of GPs with better working conditions
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach aims to address the growing shortage of general practitioners (Hausärzte) with better working conditions. "We have too few general practitioners, they are unevenly distributed, and we have a great need for them," said the SPD politician on Friday during the submission of a bill in the Bundestag. Among other things, for general practitioners, as for pediatricians, upper limits for penalties are to be abolished.
If there are already too few general practitioners, it cannot be that we do not pay them for all the services they provide, said Lauterbach. The law aims to make the medical profession more attractive for women doctors and doctors in the face of 5,000 vacant general practitioner positions and to keep the practice network afloat during retirement waves. Criticism came from the opposition. The CDU health expert Tino Sorge monitored that much was promised, but the law was emptied out. The question arises, why not also abolish penalty limits for specialists.
For general practitioners, a yearly capitation payment for treating chronically ill patients is to be introduced. This should prevent office visits every quarter just to pick up prescriptions and create more treatment rooms. New "consultation capitation payments" are to be granted to practices that meet certain criteria - for example, for home and nursing home visits or evening surgeries. Among general practitioners, the proportion of those over 60 years old is particularly high at 37%.
Improvements are planned for therapeutic offers for children and adolescents. For planning needs, a new doctor group is to be formed. For statutory health and long-term care insured persons, a digital information and comparison offer is to come. Accessible should be, for example, numbers on approvals and rejections of certain services. For municipalities, it should become easier to found medical care centers (MVZ) where doctors and doctors work under one roof.
To get the project off the ground, Lauterbach had to remove some controversial points in the coalition. However, they are to be called up again in parliamentary consultations. This includes "health kiosks," which are easily accessible consultation and treatment stations in areas with many socially disadvantaged people. Lauterbach also wants to push for an end to reimbursement for homeopathic treatments from health insurance funds.
Despite the proposed abolition of penalty limits for pediatricians, there's no mention of similar changes for general practitioners in relation to their deficiency in remuneration. Under the new working conditions, general practitioners might find none of their services remunerated fairly if they work under challenging conditions. Lauterbach's initiative aims to improve the attractiveness of the medical profession for senior general practitioners, with nearly 37% of them being over 60 years old.
