Overview
- A Berlin study by health economist Cordula Kreuzenbeck found statutory insured patients (GKV) waited on average 72.1 days for the first specialist slot while privately insured patients (PKV) waited 26.3 days, a gap of 45.8 days.
- Earlier national research from the Leibniz Institute in 2023 measured a smaller but persistent gap of about 15 days, showing the size of the difference varies by method and region.
- Experts link the disparity to higher reimbursement rates paid by private insurers and contract practices that let doctors earn more from PKV patients, creating a financial incentive to prioritise those bookings.
- Online appointment platforms such as Doctolib make the gap easier to observe and reproduce, and political figures including Friedrich Merz have framed the issue as a fairness problem, prompting public debate about reform.
- Specialists say the differences mostly affect service elements like appointment speed and hospital rooms while medically urgent care shows little insurance-based variation, and no legislative change has been enacted yet.