Funding Cuts Lead to Longer Waiting Times for Patients in Germany's Outpatient Care

Starting next year, patients with statutory health insurance in Germany will face longer wait times for outpatient care appointments due to recent government funding cuts. Andreas Gassen, Chairman of the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KBV), reported that over 50 million appointments have already been canceled as a direct result of these reductions.

Gassen criticized the newly introduced mandatory appointment reporting system, which requires medical practices to report a fixed quota of available appointments in coordination with health insurance associations. He warned that this system will worsen appointment shortages by limiting doctors’ flexibility to manage their schedules and blocking available slots, rather than improving patient access.

The KBV has consistently warned that additional funding for outpatient care is essential to increase appointment availability for patients. However, the government has first cut extra-budgetary compensation for additional appointments and now tightened appointment reporting requirements, a combination Gassen describes as counterproductive.

The new law reforming emergency care enforces strict quotas on appointment reporting, replacing the previous system where doctors could determine how much of their availability to report. According to Gassen, this approach hampers efforts to alleviate the growing access problems faced by patients with statutory health coverage.

As a result, doctors are facing increasing difficulties in offering timely appointments, leading to prolonged waiting times and reduced availability of outpatient services. This development is expected to significantly impact patient care starting in 2027, raising concerns among healthcare providers and patients alike.