Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – Out of anger at the federal health policy, resident doctors in Baden-Württemberg want to close their practices again. The protest will continue on Wednesday (December 7), said Michael Eckstein from the Medi doctors’ association. At the beginning of October, around 300 medical professionals had already opposed the cancellation of extra fees for the treatment of new patients. This so-called new patient regulation was intended to reduce long waiting times for a first appointment with a specialist.
The abolition is only one of many political mistakes and developments, criticized Medi on Monday in Stuttgart. Ultimately, it is the patients who suffer. “In the future, you will no longer get an appointment with a specialist or there will no longer be a family doctor in your area because a branch is simply no longer worthwhile,” said Eckstein.
Since 2019, the new patient regulation has offered doctors special financial incentives to take on new patients in their practice and offer additional appointments at short notice. A deletion of the regulation means financial losses for the medical practices. According to the federal government, the abolition of the regulation, which was only introduced in 2019, should help to compensate for a deficit of billions in statutory health insurance in the coming year.
According to Medi, there are 16,500 resident doctors between the Main and Lake Constance, around 5,000 of which are organized by the association.
