German drug spending in 1996 rose 6.9% in the western states to 26.8billion Deutschemarks ($15.75 billion) and 5.2% to 6.7 billion marks ($3.93 billion) in the five eastern states. The Federation of Industrial Health Funds says health fund patients now pay over 10% of drug costs themselves, but the odds are that they will pay even more.
Health Minister Horst Seehofer has announced plans for higher patient charges, and the CSU and CDU parties agree that these should be applied from July. Mr Seehofer intends the charges to be applied only to members of funds which increase their premium rates, a policy favored by the other coalition partner, the FDP.
The proposal will mean the extra charge on a drug pack, dependent on pack size, rising to nine, 11 or 13 marks. The charge for a hospital stay will rise from 12 to 17 marks per day in western Germany and from nine to 14 marks in the east, in each case for up to 14 days per year. Charges for transport and medical services such as massage will also rise. An estimated 7.5 million socially-disadvantaged people will be exempt, and payments by the chronically sick will be limited.
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