KBV Chairman Rejects Three-Week Specialist Appointment Guarantee as ‘Bullshit’
Berlin, April 5, 2026 – The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) has vehemently rejected the demand for a guaranteed specialist appointment within three weeks, labeling it as “bullshit” and “socialist regulatory rage.” Andreas Gassen, Chairman of the KBV, stated in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) that medical necessity, rather than arbitrary, voter-driven deadlines, should dictate appointment scheduling.
“Our system will be driven into a wall if we don’t finally establish binding rules based on medical need and not on personal wishes of whomever,” Gassen warned, emphasizing the critical need for a system rooted in actual patient requirements.
SPD Demands Legal Right to Timely Specialist Appointments
Gassen’s remarks come in response to a proposal by SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Miersch, who recently called for a legal right to a timely specialist appointment, suggesting a three-week timeframe as appropriate. Miersch proposed a “bonus-malus system in doctor’s remuneration” as a potential solution, where “those who do not offer appointments will see their budget reduced.”
The debate surrounding long waiting times for specialist appointments is not new. Former Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also advocated for an appointment guarantee for statutorily insured patients. Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) aims to prevent higher health insurance contributions for several years through a planned savings package. An expert commission has already presented 66 recommendations to relieve health insurance funds in the face of rapidly rising expenditures.
The planned reform, expected to take effect in 2028, envisions that insured individuals will generally first visit their family doctor. The family doctor would then refer patients to a specialist if necessary, with an appointment scheduled within a specific period. The precise details of this system are still being finalized.
“Large Majority Can Wait Several Weeks or Months”
Gassen described the coalition’s planned primary care physician system as “fundamentally a correct approach.” However, he cautioned that it “will not work if we do not arrive at a clear definition of what is truly urgent. In our estimation, this is a very small percentage of all appointments.” He argued that these patients require treatment within hours or a few days. “The large majority, from a medical point of view, can also wait several weeks or months,” the KBV chairman asserted. “Someone with back pain does not need to be examined tomorrow if they have had the complaints for three years.”
Patients are indeed facing increasingly longer waiting times for specialist appointments. According to a response from the Ministry of Health to a Left Party inquiry published in February, the average waiting time for statutorily insured patients who waited at least one day for a specialist appointment in 2024 was 42 days. In 2019, this figure was 33 days, highlighting a significant increase in recent years.
The discussion underscores a growing tension between patient expectations for rapid access to specialized care and the realities of the German healthcare system’s capacity and operational philosophy. The KBV’s firm stance suggests a pushback against what it perceives as politically motivated demands that do not align with medical priorities and could further strain an already complex system.
The proposed reforms and the ongoing debate reflect a broader effort to balance patient access, medical necessity, and financial sustainability within Germany’s healthcare framework. The coming months are expected to bring further developments as policymakers and medical professionals continue to grapple with these challenges.
