He only wants to make it possible to freely choose a doctor for an additional charge. The GKV “suffers from a disproportionately strong growth in expenditure,” writes Pimpertz in the impulse paper “Courage for new ideas. For the long-term reliability of our healthcare system,” which the “Tagesspiegel” reports on.
Per capita spending has risen “every year for over two decades by one percentage point more than income subject to contributions,” said Pimpertz in the paper by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which is close to the CDU. Specifically, the researcher suggests that the health insurance companies offer their insured persons cheaper tariffs that require them to visit certain general practitioners and specialists. Free choice of doctor would then only be available for an additional charge. At the same time, Pimpertz wants to allow the health insurance companies to conclude individual contracts with those doctors in private practice who receive preferential treatment for patients through this system. The researcher is convinced that greater planning ability would enable them to make their medical practices more efficient and thus offer cheaper rates. Pimpertz receives support from the second author of the impulse paper. In the current system, there are a lot of unnecessary patient-doctor contacts, one reason for this is the “doctor hopping” of some patients, criticizes Josef Hecken, who heads the Federal Joint Committee of the German healthcare system. The committee determines the benefit entitlement of those with statutory health insurance. Hecken points out that the so-called “family doctor model”, in which patients always first consult their family doctor, who then refers them to specialists if necessary, has reduced the number of uncoordinated specialist contacts in Baden-Württemberg by 45 percent. Hecken therefore advocates placing even greater focus on family doctor-centered care and making it an essential part of standard care. Former Federal Health Minister Hermann Gröhe (CDU) praises the ideas: “Especially those who want to maintain the solidarity-based character of our healthcare system” must, in view of demographic change, courageously look for ways to make the use of personnel and financial resources increasingly effective, said the deputy chairman the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to the “Tagesspiegel”.
