CDU health politician Hendrik Streeck has sparked widespread criticism with his proposal to introduce a fee for doctor visits. “It is not the people seeking medical help who are the problem,” stated SPD health politician Christos Pantazis on Tuesday. “Instead, the sharply rising expenses in inpatient care and for medications need to be curbed.” Opposition parties in the Bundestag and the union Verdi also criticized the proposal, while private health insurers welcomed Streeck’s initiative.
In an interview with Rheinische Post on Tuesday, Bundestag member Streeck criticized what he called the “unsolidaristic full-coverage mentality” in the health system. “While people in Denmark visit a doctor on average four times and in France five times per year, Germans go to a practice ten times per year. This is too much, often unnecessary, and it puts enormous strain on the system,” Streeck said.
He suggested a “moderate, socially acceptable co-payment” to reduce trivial visits. “Health is not an all-inclusive state service,” he added. The proposal was met with resistance from coalition partner SPD. “Mr. Streeck’s demand for more patient co-payments misunderstands the real causes of the statutory health insurance’s financial problems,” explained Pantazis. “Introducing additional fee would primarily burden those with low and middle incomes and weaken trust in our solidarity-based healthcare system.”
The Greens described Streeck’s remarks as “condescending and wrong.” Health politician Armin Grau added, “Even if co-payments are socially designed, they always create barriers for financially weaker groups and endanger proper healthcare. They also generate bureaucracy and costs. Many appointments are not initiated by patients but by quarterly scheduling and incentives in our system for chronically ill patients.”
The Left party politician Ates Gürpinar criticized the government for offering no independent solutions, saying, “Such proposals reduce doctor visits overall, but especially sick and low-income people would skip necessary visits. These ideas undermine the principle of solidarity.”
Verdi also opposed the idea, stating, “Demands for patient contribution for treatment costs are completely misplaced and ignore reality. People who are ill need good care and security, not worries about discouraging and socially unfair extra costs.”
Private health insurers, in contrast, support doctor visit fee. “In private health insurance, deductibles are standard and proven,” said PKV director Florian Reuther. “Many insured people use these deductibles. This is a strong example of cost-conscious behavior and lived personal responsibility in the health system.”
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