Overview
- KBV chair Andreas Gassen proposed a €3–4 "contact fee" for each doctor visit, to be collected by insurers and paired with a digital "doctor guide" via 116 117 to coordinate care.
- DKG chief Gerald Gaß called for doubling hospital copayments to €20 per inpatient day and imposing a €30–40 charge for emergency visits without prior telephone triage, estimating roughly €800 million in added annual revenue.
- Supporters argue the fees would curb multiple consultations and strengthen the finances of statutory health insurance.
- SPD, Greens, the Left, the house‑doctors' association, patient advocates and the GKV umbrella labeled the proposals unsocial, ineffective and bureaucratic.
- No changes have been adopted, and the ministry pointed to the expert panel reporting by March 2026, with the 2004–2012 practice fee experience cited for limited impact and high administrative burden.