Nina Warken wants to make the healthcare system more focused on prevention. The Federal Minister of Health launched a corresponding offensive against the German Medical Association and the umbrella association of statutory health insurance (GKV). “Our health care system provides high-quality, comprehensive care when sick. However, in the future we must become even better at preventing the occurrence of diseases,” the CDU politician told the Tagesspiegel newspaper after the opening of the event.
The prevention offensive sends a clear message: “Prevention is not an afterthought, but a central challenge for the future,” Worken emphasized. She believes that the broadest possible approach is needed, including different social groups and political spheres. “The health care system here can improve, but it can’t do everything,” the minister said.
The CEO of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, Oliver Blatt, also calls for intensifying preventive work throughout society. “Prevention works, that’s a fact,” he told Tagesspiegel. Thanks to the Prevention Act, passed about ten years ago, health and nursing funds in particular were given new tasks. They have now spent 734 million euros on this, but have already exhausted their capabilities. The biggest levers for promoting health lie outside the classical health care system: “The federal government, states and municipalities also need to contribute with greater commitment and, above all, financially,” Blatt said.
Health must be integrated into all policy areas and health promotion must be at the core of our health system.
Klaus ReinhardtPresident of the German Medical Association
“Health must be taken into account in all policy areas, and health promotion must form the basis of our healthcare system,” Klaus Reinhardt, president of the German Medical Association, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper. He wants to improve the health literacy of the population. According to him, doctors are ready to contribute to the preventive offensive.
Warken’s prevention offensive aims to further develop the Prevention Act, which came into force in 2015. The goal is to promote healthy maturation and healthy work, and illness and care needs in old age are delayed or prevented. The Federal Ministry of Health wants to improve citizens’ health literacy and ensure that as few people as possible suffer from common diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders or obesity.
Earlier detection
In the initial concept paper, the Ministry of Health outlined some possible measures. It is available for Tagesspiegel. In it, the ministry criticizes the fact that life expectancy in Germany is below the EU average, despite health care costs being well above average.
To change this, Nina Warken House is also offering health screening invitations to all primary school pupils and young people, so that more families take advantage of these voluntary screenings. Small and medium-sized businesses need to be supported in strengthening corporate health because more than 50 percent of the employees work here. Federal, state, and local governments must coordinate more closely when it comes to promoting health.
In connection with the upcoming reform of the care system, Warken would like to organize care support. The goal of the project is to help victims benefit from preventive and rehabilitation measures. General medical examinations will also be expanded for people over 60 years of age.
You can learn more about preventative health with Tagespiegel Plus.
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More early detection screenings are planned for all age groups, using electronic patient records or a new primary health care system targeting family doctors. The healthcare industry should also provide more digital information about prevention offerings to reach younger target groups.