[Nine months German Statutory Health Insurance Structural Reform Law--effects and perspectives]

In 1992 the German Statutory Health Insurance body was in the red by about 9,000 million DM and had the highest membership fees ever since it was created. Costing analysis revealed the following reasons for this enormous deficit: too expensive hospital financing a continually growing number of doctors and dental surgeons unrational drug prescription and supply. Of course, medical progress and demographic development are very significant costing factors. When assessing the impact of the Structural Reform Legislation we must differentiate between purely cost-reducing measures and structural changes. Cutting down the budgets in essential areas of compensation payment and slashing doctor's fees are like putting your foot down on the brake pedal. The statutory health insurance data for the first two quarters showed: doctors +3.4%, dental surgeons -4.3%. Limiting the budget for drugs to about 24,000 million DM and for remedial items to about 4,000 million DM with a possible collective slashing of the fees paid to doctors if these budgets were exceeded, proved to be an effective cost-reducing measure. In the case of drugs costs went down by 20.1% compared with the previous year (1992) due to an halt in prices charged by the drug industry and greater financial participation on the part of the patients. Prescriptions were reduced to a comparatively slight extent (1-2%), but the mode of prescription was much more economical.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)