Nicola Buhlinger-Göpfarth, chairwoman of the German Association of Family Doctors, called the plan a “slash-and-burn approach” in an interview with the Rheinische Post. “Bundesrat must stop this misguided journey at the latest,” she said. The law would noticeably worsen patient care and lead to longer waiting times.
The black-red coalition’s legislative package is designed to relieve statutory health insurance funds of sharply rising costs in 2027 in order to prevent premium increases. Planned measures include spending caps for medical practices, hospitals and pharmacies, higher co-payments for medications, and a requirement to present a sick note from the first day of illness. Telephone sick notes are to be abolished.
Green Party politician Ricarda Lang called the new regulation on sick notes a “harebrained idea.”
Source: www.spiegel.de
