The chairman of the IKK Innovation Fund, Ralf Hermes, proposes voluntary private insurance for those insured with statutory health insurance, which would cover the costs of specialist visits. According to Hermes, this model would help to improve the quality of care and minimize costs.
Hermes advocates voluntary private insurance for specialist visits
Ralf Hermesthe board of the IKK Innovation Fund, suggested in an interview with the “Bild” newspaper (Monday edition) that people with statutory insurance could voluntarily leave the statutory insurance in order to take out private supplementary insurance for specialist appointments. “The insured person chooses specialist medical care up to a deductible of 2,000 euros. Up to this limit, the statutory insurance does not cover any treatment costs,” said Hermes in the interview.
Reward for exclusion from statutory insurance
According to Hermes’ proposal, insured persons who take out this supplementary insurance would receive a payout of, for example, 600 euros from the insurance company as a reward. “With this payout, the insured person can take out private supplementary insurance for specialist appointments – and will then be treated by the specialist as a private patient,” says Hermes.
Improving patient care and cost savings potential
The board of the IKK Innovation Fund explains that this model could improve patient care and save costs. In particular, there would be fewer unnecessary visits to a specialist. “Up to now, people with statutory insurance can go to the doctor as often as they want – until their health card glows. We can no longer afford this flat rate model,” Hermes explained to “Bild”.
This message was edited by AI, August 12, 2024 00:28.
