Matthias Miersch, the SPD parliamentary group leader, has urged lawmakers to cut specialist budgets for doctors who let statutory‑insured patients wait too long for an appointment. He argues that it is unfair that private‑health‑insured people get specialist appointments far faster. “The legislature must step in and remove the wrong incentives” he told “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland”.
Miersch calls for a statutory right to a timely specialist appointment, suggesting a three‑week limit. He proposes linking this to a bonus‑malus system in physician payments: doctors who do not offer appointments would see their budgets reduced. Alternatively, the money could be diverted to clinics that provide outpatient appointments.
On nursing‑home costs, he proposes capping the out‑of‑pocket share and strengthening the role of private nursing‑care insurance. “When the savings earned over years evaporate in a few months, it feels like a confiscation of a person’s life work” he said. The out‑of‑pocket share should noticeably decline, and where possible be capped. Currently, private nursing‑care insurers contribute insufficiently to overall costs. He wants this to change to restore a sense of fairness and to relieve people from the fear of financial ruin in old age.
