Berlin: (hib/PK) Medical associations are calling for an adjustment to the fee schedule for doctors and dentists. The currently valid billing bases are outdated in terms of content and do not take price developments into account in any way, explained the Federal Medical Association (BÄK) and the Federal Dental Association (BZÄK) in a hearing of the Health Committee on an application (20/7586) from the Union parliamentary group. Other experts basically agreed with the assessment. The experts spoke at the hearing on Wednesday and in written statements.
In its application, the Union parliamentary group calls on the federal government to immediately introduce an amendment to the fee schedule for doctors (GOÄ) and the fee schedule for dentists (GOZ) in the form of a legal ordinance.
In the opinion of the Federal Dental Association, the GOZ is technically and economically outdated and is no longer suitable as a basis for billing. Due to inflation, dentists’ fees have depreciated by almost 109 percent since 1988. In addition, many of the services described in 1988 are now technically outdated. There are now more than 160 dental services that are not described in the GOZ. A spokeswoman for the BZÄK said at the hearing that young dentists were being deterred from establishing themselves in view of the rising costs, which are not reflected in the GOZ.
The German Medical Association argued similarly. The currently valid GOÄ essentially dates back to 1982 and was only partially amended in 1996. It does not reflect medical progress or the cost and price developments of the last few decades. Medical services that are not included in the GOÄ have to be billed using often complicated analogue assessments.
Health economist Jürgen Wasem joined the demands. It is necessary to update the fee schedules in order to reflect medical progress through the inclusion of new services. The level of remuneration also needs to be adjusted. Wasem advocated adjusting the fee schedules at short intervals in the future.