In the Corona crisis, free quick tests are a simple means of increasing security for many. But for the state this is an expensive thing. How’s that going?
The federal and state governments are struggling to continue offering free rapid corona tests in summer and autumn. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is aiming to restrict the citizen tests financed by the federal government until the end of June.
From the federal states and from social associations, calls for free tests continued to come in many places at a conference of health ministers with Lauterbach on Wednesday. During the preparations for a possible new wave of infection in autumn, necessary stricter requirements such as mask requirements are also being discussed.
Before the conference of health ministers in Magdeburg, Lauterbach confirmed his plan on Wednesday to move away from free tests for everyone. You have to limit the citizen tests a bit, said the SPD politician. In the past, tests were billed for that were not carried out and tests were carried out that were not necessary. Better quality control is needed, emphasized Lauterbach.
Holetschek: Ask for protection against financing issues
Lauterbach had already said on the ARD program “Maischberger” on Tuesday evening that the federal states wanted to continue testing, but they did not want to pay. That has to be negotiated. Saxony-Anhalt’s Health Minister Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD), who is currently Chair of the Health Ministers’ Conference, pointed out on Wednesday that the federal states would already pay for tests in daycare centers and schools.
Bavaria’s head of department Klaus Holetschek (CSU) said that the states did not initially contribute to further costs, they already did that at vaccination centers. The CSU politician also advocated making the group of people for citizen tests “rather broader than narrower”. In a pandemic, the protection of life is the central issue and not the question of financing expenses. “I don’t want visitors to old people’s and nursing homes to say, for example, that I’m not visiting my grandmother because I can no longer afford the test.”
The FDP budget politician Karsten Klein said: “There will be no further as before in the citizen tests.” Protection against infection and combating pandemics are primarily the responsibility of the federal states, and this also applies to financing. The Federal Court of Auditors has repeatedly pointed this out and demanded that the federal states share the costs.
Social Association VdK: Test restriction negligent
According to a proposal by the Federal Ministry of Health, only people with symptoms should be eligible for free tests, as well as other selected groups such as small children and pregnant women. A paper on the “Corona Autumn Strategy” also specifically mentions preventive tests in clinics and nursing homes, in the event of a spreading infection situation in “hotspots” and for war refugees from Ukraine. Lauterbach said on Wednesday that the test offer should in future be geared more towards those “who actually need the test”.
According to the rules in force until the end of June, everyone without cause or symptoms is entitled to at least one rapid test per week at test sites by trained staff and with a certificate. As the ministry paper goes on to say, an easily accessible test infrastructure should also be maintained in pharmacies. More controls should also push back billing fraud.
The social association VdK warned that it would be negligent to only offer limited free citizen tests. The number of infections is already high and will certainly continue to rise. “The pandemic can hardly be measured without citizen tests,” said President Verena Bentele. The board of directors of the German Foundation for Patient Protection, Eugen Brysch, demanded in the “Rheinische Post” that there should be no clear cutting of free tests. “Limiting preventive tests to hospitals and nursing homes alone excludes 3.2 million people in need of care, their relatives and carers.”
Goal: Be better prepared in the fall
On the occasion of the two-day conference of health ministers, legal regulations for the fall will also be discussed. The head of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), Andreas Gassen, told the editorial network Germany that the course of the disease is currently mostly mild. “Many of those affected do not even notice it.” Therefore, higher infection numbers alone could not be the basis for measures, “e.g. for a new mask requirement”.
Some countries, on the other hand, are calling for the legal requirements for stricter protective measures to be created quickly. Lauterbach heard that. “We will quickly come to an agreement,” he said, referring to the federal and state consultations. The aim is to be better prepared for the pandemic this fall than in previous years. Various instruments such as a mask requirement will be discussed. Vaccination is irrelevant. “We will no longer pursue compulsory vaccination, not even from the age of 60,” said Lauterbach.
The opposition Union also called for more precise data on immunity in Germany for the autumn in order to close a possible gap through targeted vaccination campaigns. According to a statement by the health politicians from the CDU and CSU, it is still unclear how big it really is after vaccinations and infections. A representative antibody study should therefore be carried out quickly and a data protection-compliant, unbureaucratic vaccination register set up.
Source: Stern
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