10 INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH & OPINION

Regulatory and Healthcare News

German healthcare reforms doomed to fail?

Gennan experts predict that the health refonns will fail to achieve the stated aims, while the parliamentary opposition expects that the refonns will fail at the parliamentary phase, reports Scrip. I

Reasons for failure include the effective exclusion of hospitals from refonn measures, the high degree of monitoring required, and the creation of a positive list of reimbursable phannaceuticals. The federal association of Krankenkassen physicians is opposed to the refonn plans and is attempting to bring all regional associations into a common opposition. In the meantime, the Krankenkassen have initiated a campaign to reassure patients that necessary medicines are not rationed and that a budget of OM39 billion ($US22 billion) has been available for drug treatment this year.

Collective accountability The latest draft of the Gennan healthcare refonn

plans also includes measures to hold physicians accountable for overspending on the prescribing budget, according to another report in Scrip.2 The Gennan Minister of Health Andrea Fischer has said at a meeting in Berlin that this year's prescribing budget must be observed, and that, under certain circum­stances, all physicians will collectively be held accountable for budget overspending. However, the report also states that the overall Krankenkassen budget for the year 2000 has been increased by 2% or OM5 billion ($US2.7 billion). 1. Will it, won't it fly - German reform. Scrip 2483: 8.22 Oct 1999 2. Screws tighten on Gennan doctors. Scrip 2482: 3. 20 Oct 1999 Il00763,7&

PhannacoEconomics & Outr:omes News 6 Nov 1999 No. 237 1173·5503199/0237·000101$01.00° Adi. International Limited 1999. All right. reaerved