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Cost-effectiveness requirement

Оглавление

The statutory health insurance system is characterised by the principle of need: all services that are necessary for the medical treatment of an insured individual are borne by the statutory health insurance funds. This is why it is sometimes referred to as “fully comprehensive” insurance— especially in contrast to other insurance systems, e.g., long-term care insurance, in which only a portion of the necessary services is paid for according to the budget principle. However, a system that provides all necessary services without the insured having to contribute to the costs of care runs the risk of becoming infinitely expensive. Therefore, the law provides for various mechanisms for the efficient use of funds. The “efficiency principle” according to § 12 German Code of Social Law (SGB V) is fundamental. It stipulates that benefits provided by statutory health insurers must, on the one hand, not go beyond what is necessary, and on the other hand, must be sufficient, appropriate, and economical. An expression of the principle of economic efficiency is that all services must provide patient benefit. This applies to the Federal Joint Committee as well as to medical methods and digital health applications (DiGA). This may sound trivial at first, because it is obvious that health insurers do not pay for something that does not help anyone. In fact, however, the definition of benefit—and even more so the operationalisation of the proof thereof— is extremely complex (see chapter 7.3 Positive care effects).

DiGA VADEMECUM

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