Status: 01/20/2022 08:06 a.m
There are thousands of medical care centers in Germany. Private investors are behind some of them. That’s fueling commercialization in healthcare, critics say. Others call for a quality competition.
Several doctors under one roof, as the legal form of a medical care center (MVZ) – for example a GmbH: The head of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Bavaria, Wolfgang Krombholz, has no fundamental objection to this. However, he considers it dangerous if private investors invest in MVZs. Because in his opinion, one thing is clear: “Investors have different laws than medical action has as its goal.”
The head of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Dentists in Bavaria, Christian Berger, also warns that at MVZ, which are backed by investors, sales optimization is far more important than in traditional practices. Berger says he knows reports from dentists who have left medical care centers that have certain monthly sales targets. And he has information that there are regular discussions in investor-supported MVZs on “economic optimization of treatment behavior”.
Rapidly increasing number of MVZ
Since the federal government introduced the legal form of the MVZ in 2004, their number has risen rapidly: to around 4000. More than a fifth of them are based in Bavaria. Many MVZ are run by doctors, others by hospitals, others by stock corporations or financial investors who try to generate returns for their investors.
However, the chairwoman of the Federal Association of Operators of Medical Care Centers, Sybille Stauch-Eckmann, believes that the accusation that the pursuit of returns is at the expense of the patients is unfounded: “The resident doctor also looks at his business evaluation at the end of the month,” she argues .
Popular employers
And Günter Stalla, head of the MVZ Medicover in Munich, states: Behind the large practice specializing in internal medicine and rheumatology, which he runs, is a public limited company based in Sweden. However, the professor of medicine emphasizes that the parent company’s pursuit of profit has no influence on his work as a doctor. He doesn’t have to worry about finances like he would as a practice manager. Stalla says he doesn’t feel any pressure from Medicover management. Medicover operates hospitals, care centers and laboratories primarily in Europe, but also in India.
Stalla sees many advantages in the MVZ legal form for both patients and his medical colleagues. A large practice like the one he runs can professionally take care of quality management, i.e. the best possible patient care. MVZ are a good option, especially for young doctors who often shy away from the risk of setting up a practice and prefer to work as employees. According to data from the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, a total of 23,640 doctors were employed in MVZs at the end of 2020, 21,976 of them as employees.
Demand for quality competition
At the same time, the chairman of the MVZ association, Stauch-Eckmann, calls for more discussion about where patients are best cared for. “The competition for quality must be the decisive factor.” Many MVZ operators have set up systems to measure the quality of treatment. You don’t have to shy away from comparisons with traditional practices.
The head of the Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, Krombholz, remains true to his warning: The interests of private investors often conflict with the interests of patients. MVZ are increasingly being backed by investor groups based in low-tax areas such as the Cayman Islands or the British Channel Islands, says Krombholz. From this alone one can already see that such MVZ carriers do not focus on the interests of the patients, but on financial interests.
The head of KV receives support from Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek. The CSU politician calls for quick action from the federal government. However, the coalition agreement does not say anything about this. However, the previous government led by the Union did not see any reason for fundamental changes to the law in the MVZ.