The Federal Audit Office has criticized what it says is billions in wasted funds resulting from payment regulations intended to speed up access to medical appointments. The Appointment Service and Care Act (TSVG), introduced in 2019, led to additional expenses of 2.9 billion euros for statutory health insurance by mid-2024, according to a report released on Thursday. However, waiting times for patients with statutory insurance did not decrease, meaning the law “failed” to achieve its goal.
Under the TSVG, doctors were granted additional extra-budgetary compensation in certain cases. The aim was to improve access to outpatient care for statutory patients and reduce waiting times. But improved access is “not identifiable,” the auditors said in their report to the Bundestag’s Budget Committee on Thursday.
They noted that the average waiting time for a specialist appointment for statutory patients rose from 33 days in 2019 to 42 days in 2024. Meanwhile, health insurers “must increasingly expect double funding and higher expenditures.”
The Federal Audit Office therefore recommends “abolishing the existing TSVG compensation regulations without replacement.” According to the report, the Federal Ministry of Health intends to review the rules only once the new primary care system is introduced. For the Audit Office, this is too late: “Further waiting is unacceptable,” the report states.
Green health policy expert Paula Piechotta called the criticized Appointment Service and Care Act “another example of the short-sighted health policy from Jens Spahn’s time in office.” Piechotta added, “In a phase of good financial conditions for insurers, thoughtless regulations were adopted that have consumed billions in contribution funds today.”
Spahn, she said, “did not help patients with this law but made their paths longer and threw billions in insurance money out the window without added value.” At the time in 2019, Jens Spahn (CDU) was serving as Federal Health Minister. The current officeholder is Nina Warken (CDU). Warken intends to improve outpatient care for patients through a primary care system. Under this model, general practitioners would become the first point of contact, even before visits to specialists. Warken plans to present an initial draft bill by the summer.
From breaking news to thought-provoking opinion pieces, our newsletter keeps you informed & engaged.
