Health - National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds opposes doctors' demands
The statutory health insurance funds are rejecting the demands of doctors in private practice for more money. Doris Pfeiffer, head of the board of the umbrella organization of the statutory health insurance funds, told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland with regard to the ongoing protests by various doctors' associations that the gross net income of doctors in private practice had risen on average across Germany in recent years.
"It must also be made clear: What doctors or pharmacists want to get more, the supermarket cashier and the truck driver have to finance with their health insurance contributions," said Pfeiffer. They also suffer from the increased prices.
Closed medical practices
Pfeiffer also opposed further financial aid for clinics. "It is not acceptable for contributors to pump additional money into a hospital system in which 30 to 40 percent of beds are permanently empty," she said. It makes no sense to support clinics that will ultimately no longer be needed for good patient care. "The principle of funding with a watering can must come to an end. There is enough money in the system."
Medical associations have called for GP and specialist practices across Germany to remain closed between the years. The campaign, which is planned until Friday, is part of the "Practice in Need" campaign, which is supported by more than 20 associations. The Virchowbund der niedergelassenen Ärztinnen und Ärzte was unable to provide any information on the number of practices involved on Wednesday, as the strike is being organized on a decentralized basis. However, a spokeswoman explained that several tens of thousands of practices were expected to be closed nationwide. The practices had been called upon to inform their patients of the closure, to refer them to the medical on-call service and to provide cover for emergencies.
No understanding from Lauterbach
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach shows no understanding for the demands of doctors in private practice. "I don't think the demand for more money is justified," he said in the ZDF program "heute journal update". "With the exception of Switzerland, nowhere else in Europe do doctors' practices earn as much as in Germany. I don't see any scope for fee increases." He does not understand why there are strikes. There is a "huge wave of illness" in the population. "The doctors' demands for more money are also well known. The strike won't achieve anything at all."
Lauterbach wants to meet with GPs in January for a crisis summit to discuss the lamented overload and bureaucracy in practices. "Practices need better working conditions and less bureaucracy. The money also needs to be distributed more fairly," he said on ZDF television. "But simply pouring more money into a system as in the past - which doesn't really work well - we have simply practiced this solution too often. That will not be the focus."
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- The editorial network Germany reported that Karl Lauterbach, the German Federal Health Minister, expressed no sympathy towards the demands from private practice doctors for higher fees, stating that the income of doctors in Germany has been increasing on average recently.
- In response to the ongoing protests by doctors' associations, Doris Pfeiffer, head of the board of the umbrella organization of the statutory health insurance funds, mentioned that Germany's specialist practices had seen an overall rise in income in recent years.
- The umbrella organization, which represents Germany's statutory health insurance funds, is opposed to providing further financial aid to clinics with high vacancy rates, as stated by Doris Pfeiffer in her interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland.
- In Berlin, the Editorial network Germany reported that more than 20 medical associations participated in a campaign, urging general practitioner and specialist practices across Germany to close for a period, as part of the "Practice in Need" campaign, led by the Virchowbund der niedergelassenen Ärztinnen und Ärzte.
Source: www.stern.de
