The Chairwoman of the Federal Association of the AOK (General Health Insurance Fund), Dr. Carola Reimann, has criticized the coalition committee's decisions to abolish telephone-based sick notes. The measure is pure symbolic politics and will not reduce absenteeism.
Several analyses showed that the introduction of telephone-based sick notes could not be the cause for the sharp increase in reports of inability to work in recent years, Reimann explained. The small proportion of telephone-based sick notes cannot explain the sharp increase in cases of inability to work. Rather, this was caused, among other things, by the introduction of electronic sick notes in 2022, which led to a more complete recording of certificates by health insurance funds.
There is no evidence of abuse of telephone-based sick notes, emphasized the AOK chairwoman. The abolition is therefore not an effective measure to reduce absenteeism. Furthermore, it is not understandable what the mandatory submission of the sick note from the first day has to do with the goal of reducing bureaucracy. On the contrary, this will lead to considerable additional effort in doctors' offices and to additional costs for the healthcare system.
The coalition had previously decided, among other things, to abolish telephone-based sick notes and to make a sick note mandatory from the first day of illness in order to curb the rising absenteeism and reduce bureaucracy. Reimann clearly contradicted this logic.
The background is a persistently high rate of absenteeism in many sectors, which has led to burdens for companies and the healthcare system in recent years. The federal government sees stricter regulations for sick notes as a contribution to relief.
