Examination of corona test centers
Report: Statutory health insurance physicians with millions in profit thanks to the test regulation
09/06/2022, 8:02 p.m
The Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) receive many millions of euros from the federal government to check the accounts of corona test centers. At least one KV makes a good profit with it. Many others remain silent. There are still numerous cases of fraud at test centers.
The organizations of statutory health insurance physicians apparently receive far more funding from the federal government than they need for administrative activities relating to the rapid corona tests. As reported by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ), the North German Broadcasting Corporation (NDR) and the West German Broadcasting Corporation (WDR), the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) Lower Saxony claims to have “surpluses” with these funds. Effective control of the largely state-financed, privately operated test stations is still not in sight.
The 17 state associations of statutory health insurance physicians (there are two associations in North Rhine-Westphalia) take care of the accounts for the corona rapid test stations. The KV Lower Saxony speaks of a “profit” that you do with this task. “We have invested this money well for the population,” said Lower Saxony KV spokesman Detlef Haffke in an interview with SZ, “NDR” and “WDR”. The surplus is used to support medical practices in rural areas that are currently not occupied. “In the end, the profit we made goes to the care of patients in Lower Saxony.”
The KV Lower Saxony alone is said to have collected around 30 million euros from the state for their part-time job. “We never asked for this sum,” said Haffke. You have to ask the legislature, i.e. those responsible in Berlin, whether that is not too generous. In any case, KV Lower Saxony will not reimburse its surpluses because it is the law that you get this money. “And we have laid it out sensibly,” says Haffke.
Statutory health insurance physicians contradict profit claims
The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians contradicts the impression that the state organizations made profits with the federal government’s money. The administrative fees paid by the state are “fixed flat rates” with which no “surplus” can be generated. The federal association names numerous tasks that are carried out in the rapid tests. If the representation of the federal association were correct, then the KV Lower Saxony with its “profit” would be a big exception.
Nationwide, the KVs are said to have received around 350 million euros. “Despite the enormous sums that the health insurance companies receive for billing checks, there is apparently massive fraud with the tests. Several hundred investigations are being carried out nationwide against test site operators,” writes das WDR investigative team on Twitter. It is also said that investigators from the Berlin State Criminal Police Office said the damage that has so far been caused by bogus bills or overpriced test kits across Germany could be around more than one billion euros.