Practice Fee: Change of course in politics – Abolition at the turn of the year?

Unions and liberals have taken an interesting approach to the dispute over the consultation fee. Bavaria’s finance minister Söder has been open about his desire to abolish the fee, and he is the first CSU politician to speak out. If everything goes according to the plans of FDP leader Rösler, the controversial fee that was introduced in 2004, will no longer be retained by the end of the year.

The background is that the health insurance companies earn billions in surpluses. Moreover, the desired control function of the charge – the reduction of doctor visits – has not proven successful.

Commentary: The mood on the abolition of the much-discussed practice charge seems to have turned. Chancellor Angela Merkel had recently declared the abolishment of the fee not open to discussion.

With the abolition of the „Control Instruments consultation fee“, however, the Government must answer the question: what takes the place of the consultation fee? The fee had flushed two billion euros into the system.

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