Overview
- KBV chief Andreas Gassen proposes a €3–4 per‑visit contact fee for doctor appointments, to be collected by insurers to raise revenue and discourage repeat consultations.
- Hospital association head Gerald Gaß urges doubling the inpatient co‑payment to €20 per day and charging €30–40 for unscreened emergency‑center visits, estimating about €800 million in added annual revenues.
- Gassen also advocates a digital “Ärzte‑Lotse” via the 116 117 line to advise patients, coordinate appointments and reduce duplicate treatments.
- SPD, Greens, patient advocates and the house‑doctors’ association reject the ideas as socially unfair, ineffective and bureaucratic, while the Health Ministry points to the commission process rather than endorsing any measure.
- Debate revives memories of the €10 quarterly practice fee scrapped in 2012 for limited impact and high admin burden, and follows a summer push from employers for a per‑contact charge as financing pressures on statutory insurance intensify.