Answering a parliamentary inquiry from the Left, the Federal Ministry of Health revealed that statutory‑health‑insured patients waited longer for specialist appointments in 2024 than in recent years. A survey the government cites shows the average waiting time in 2024 was 42 days, up from 33 days in 2019, for those who had waited at least one day for a specialist appointment.
At the same time, out‑of‑appointment (open) consultations with doctors have cost the statutory health system soaring amounts. Extrabudgetary payments for these services reached about €814 million in 2023, compared with €547 million in 2022 and roughly €291 million in 2020.
Certain doctors are required to offer a minimum of five hours per week of open consultations without prior appointments. For meeting this requirement, they receive additional funding through extrabudgetary payments, a measure intended to improve access to care for statutory‑insured patients.
Julia‑Christina Stange, spokesperson for outpatient care for the Left faction, criticized the regime: “The regulations aimed at better care and faster appointments are a mess. They cost the statutory‑insured more money for poorer service. Instead of finally stepping in and examining how care is actually evolving, the government keeps its eyes tightly shut”.
