Overview

• Under the proposed model, statutory health insurance patients would need to consult a GP first to obtain specialist referrals, while planned exemptions cover ophthalmology, gynecology and severe chronic cases.
• Health Minister Nina Warken presented the plan at the German Doctors’ Congress in Leipzig, emphasizing its goal to centralize patient management, speed up specialist appointments and eliminate duplicate examinations.
• The German Hausärzteverband has pledged to absorb two to five additional daily patient contacts per practice and suggested offering bonuses to insurers and patients during a multi-year transition to boost voluntary enrollment.
• KBV head Andreas Gassen and other critics argue the requirement should apply only to older, multimorbid patients and warn that strict gatekeeping could limit patient choice and heighten wait times for specialist care.
• Green health spokesman Janosch Dahmen and patient advocate Eugen Brysch caution that mandatory referrals risk exacerbating underprovision in rural areas without strengthened GP capacity and enhanced digital coordination.