Groeneveld: Deliver on Promised Fixed Fee Increase—Now!
German pharmacies face collapse as funding crisis deepens without government action
The Lower Saxony State Pharmacists' Association (LAV) is once again urging the federal government to immediately implement the fixed fee increase outlined in the coalition agreement. "Politicians continue to stand by as the decline in pharmacies steadily erodes public healthcare access," warned Berend Groeneveld, the association's chairman.
After years of stagnation, pharmacies now urgently need financial reinforcement, he stressed. "While the Federal Ministry of Health has made some improvements in its draft Pharmacy Supply Development Act, the long-promised—and critically needed—boost to pharmacy remuneration has yet to materialize," Groeneveld criticized. Further delays, he cautioned, risk undermining nationwide medication supply. "For patients, this means ever-longer journeys just to access their prescriptions and expert advice from a local pharmacy."
"As pharmacists, we need reliable funding and financial stability to continue fulfilling our core responsibilities and take on new planned services," Groeneveld emphasized. "We therefore repeat our call to policymakers: honor the coalition agreement's pledge and adjust remuneration without delay."
The state government and Health Minister Dr. Andreas Philippi (SPD) have already acknowledged the severity of the situation, he noted. "We fail to understand why the federal government refuses to recognize this crisis—or why it hasn't taken the necessary steps to adjust pharmacy fees long ago. Instead, politicians watch idly as the shrinking number of pharmacies degrades healthcare for the public. If the promised fee adjustments aren't enacted immediately, we will ramp up efforts to alert the public to the dire consequences of pharmacy closures on healthcare access."
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