The German Medical Association has taken note of the published proposals of the GKV Finance Commission in principle and announced that it will carefully examine them. At the same time, President Dr. Klaus Reinhardt warned against reacting with short-term and selective cuts in patient care.

Such measures would tend to exacerbate existing supply problems and even lead to higher costs in the long term, Reinhardt explained. Instead of a heated debate about individual measures, viable, sustainable solutions are needed for stable financing of statutory health insurance (GKV).

The President of the German Medical Association welcomed Federal Minister Warken’s statement that all actors must make their contribution to stabilising the health care system. A fair and balanced distribution of the burden is crucial. No one should try to keep their own reform contributions as low as possible and to stick to the status quo. What is required is the willingness for real structural change.

Reinhardt named several concrete fields of action: After the hospital reform, a sustainable primary care system and a reform of emergency care would have to be launched this year. An honest analysis of where resources are lost in the existing system due to a lack of efficiency and coordination is key.

The German Medical Association expressly supports the Commission’s recommendation that non-insurance services – in particular health care for recipients of citizen’s allowance – should be adequately financed from tax revenues. It also welcomes proposals to strengthen the polluter-pays principle in terms of tax policy, including higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco as well as a graduated tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. The additional revenue should be used specifically for prevention and health promotion.

Reinhardt also called for a fundamental change of course towards more prevention and health promotion across all policy areas. This also includes openly addressing patients’ personal responsibility when using medical services and leading a health-conscious lifestyle.

The proposals of the GKV Finance Commission are now to be further developed into a coherent overall concept that not only closes financial gaps in the short term, but also creates the basis for a future-proof and solidarity-based health system.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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