A shorter Period has led to a wave of lawsuits from health insurance companies. Mass to justify hospitals because of allegedly incorrectly calculated the cost of treatment. The social courts do not know yet, as tens of thousands of methods to cope.
In the Wake of the Federal action-wide wave of health insurance companies against hospitals social courts to 23 are in each of the eight NRW. November have already received over ten thousand complaints. It up to 50,000 individual would have a method, said a spokesman for the regional social court (LSG) North Rhine-Westphalia in Essen.
It is assumed that this can not be accomplished with the existing staff. For comparison: In the whole subject of health Insurance only around 13,000 complaints were received in the last year of the eight dishes in total. Nationwide, approximately 60,000 claims had been filed.
Change of deadline makes for wave of lawsuits
Background of the wave of lawsuits, a change in the law, the Minister of health, Jens Spahn (CDU)at the beginning of November to the nursing staff is to strengthen the law to make, such as the Handelsblatt reported. The law was changed so that the health insurance only until the adoption of the law on the 9. November in the Bundestag, time had to bear, conflicts over hospital bills before the social courts, which are not older than two years, writes the Handelsblatt.
In the claims it may be incorrectly calculated treatment costs, the funds as a precaution of the clinics. The background is that the German Bundestag had decided in the beginning of November, to shorten the limitation period from four to two years. In order not to lose possible claims, submitted funds then in the short term, thousands of complaints with social courts. The German hospital Association (DKG) estimates that nationwide more than 200,000 claims and recoveries of up to half a billion euros.
Claim with a total claim of € 1.3 million
In the often complain of various cases have been combined, said LSG spokesman Uwe Hansmann. So there was in Cologne a claim with a total claim of Euro 1.3 million, in 590, individual treatment cases, claims would be made. Each treatment case is separately examined. Therefore, you need to in the to 23. November complaints received in total, with up to 50,000 individual claims.
The action shaft means that the employees in the collection and in the office up to the judges is a significant burden. With the Ministry of justice is already talking about measures to remedy the situation. Ministry spokesman Ralf Lord bridge said: The Ministry of justice is currently examining, together with the land social court, the possibilities of this Overuse to meet the social courts as soon as possible.
Procedures last for one to two years
Each procedure takes usually one to two years, said the court spokesman. The reason is, among other things, that in most cases expert opinions were obtained, whose preparation is often several months is continuing. The procedure then, in the second instance, it could be time to add one and a half to two years.
According to Handelsblatt, especially large health insurance companies such as TK, Barmer, AOK Hessen and the AOK to use in the past few months, Baden-Württemberg, the possibility of set-off.