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A faster appointment with a specialist becomes possible if statutory health insurance patients pay out of pocket, FOCUS online reported. The Green Party criticized this development as leading to additional inequality.
Janosch Dahmen, health policy spokesperson for the parliamentary group, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the trend threatens to create a new payment barrier. “Wer selbst bezahlt, kommt mitunter innerhalb weniger Stunden dran. Wer auf seine Krankenversicherung angewiesen ist, muss warten,” Dahmen said. He called the evolution toward paywall-driven care highly problematic from both a medical and social policy perspective.
Dahmen warned that a three-tier supply system risks establishing itself alongside the existing two-tier medical framework. Statutory insured patients already frequently wait months for appointments while private patients receive treatment much faster. He added that the shift risks triggering further loss of trust among contributors.
Private Consultations Expand for 2027
Andreas Gassen, head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, known as the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung, said that private consultation offerings will likely expand under the austerity package for stable contribution rates in 2027. Gassen told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that insured patients choosing this route will be treated like private patients outside statutory coverage while footing the bill themselves.
“Gesetzlich Versicherte, die diese Option wählen, werden dann außerhalb der gesetzlichen Versorgung behandelt wie ein Privatpatient, müssen aber die Kosten als Selbstzahler aus der eigenen Tasche begleichen,” Gassen said. The legislative package from the governing coalition introduces spending brakes across the healthcare sector.
Dahmen emphasized that supply bottlenecks must not become a business model. Regional associations of statutory health insurance physicians carry a legal mandate to ensure adequate medical supply. He called on the federal government to provide transparency due to a lack of comprehensive nationwide data regarding the extent of out-of-pocket offers.
Patient Advocates Demand Legislative Action
Eugen Brysch called it unacceptable that statutory patients face a choice between long waiting times and personal payments. “Wer jährlich 50 Milliarden Euro für niedergelassene Praxen zahlt, braucht verlässliche Hilfe,” Brysch said. He added that threats cause fear among patients and that opaque scarcity must not turn into a business model.
Brysch, board member of the German Patient Protection Foundation, stressed that statutory associations must answer for their legal mandates. Instead of pointing to private payments, the chief lobbyist turns healthcare into a matter of wealth, Brysch criticized. He demanded fairer distribution of burdens and said that medical specialization and disease severity require careful attention.
Federal Health Minister Carsten Linnemann must act and implement clear statutory regulations, Brysch urged. States need effective oversight and enforcement rights to protect patients relying on standard insurance coverage.
