BNC criticizes: “The result of the negotiations is a step in the right direction – nothing more!”
11.10.2012 15:17
“The result of yesterday's negotiations between the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), chaired by the neutral arbitrator Prof. Jürgen Wasem, is the first step in the right direction. But nothing more.” With these words, the President of the Professional Association of Resident Surgeons, Dr. Dieter Haack, the compromise that was reached on October 9th after a long round of negotiations.
Haack rated it as positive that the medical profession's demand for psychotherapeutic services to be removed from the specialist pool was met. “In view of the volume development in psychotherapeutic services in recent years and the expected volume development in the next few years, there is no alternative to this. Because the current practice is at the expense of the other specialists.”
The BNC president criticized the fact that there are still no fixed, cost-covering and economically calculated prices for medical services. “To illustrate this: Instead of being paid 10 euros for a service, in the future we will receive 10.09 euros.” Haack further complained that contract doctors will largely not be paid for their many unpaid services in the future. “It’s as if you were doing a lot of unpaid overtime and your boss now offered to pay you ten percent of that overtime.”
The highly specialized specialists with special “services worthy of support” such as outpatient surgery received a point value of around five cents six years ago. Haack reported: “We currently receive an average of 3.8 cents here in Baden-Württemberg. A surcharge of 0.9 percent does not cover the cost of the service. Business service provision means that the surgeon receives money not only for his practice costs, but also for his own performance - and this is only possible from a point value of 4.4 cents.
Haack calculated: “Converted to 150,000 contracted doctors, the 1.3 billion euros is around 8,500 euros per year. Calculated down, this amounts to 708 euros per month for the practice. That doesn’t even cover the cost development for personnel and operating costs over the last four years, let alone compensate for the inflation rate.”
The BNC is the professional association of freelance surgeons in Germany, whose interests it represents through a federal board and 25 regional state associations (ANC). It is committed to the training and further education of its members and is committed to promoting outpatient surgical treatment and interdisciplinary exchange. To this end, the association conducts dialogue with politicians, health insurance companies, business and other professional associations at the federal level.