Erfurt (dpa/th) - According to the current status, Thuringia will not take over the additional payments that will be due from July for most rapid corona tests. In the consultations with the Federal Minister of Health, the federal states made it very clear "that it is not possible to assume additional costs," explained Health Minister Heike Werner (left) on Tuesday when asked. "No federal state has budgeted funds for this." Werner warned again that the co-payments provided for in the new Corona Test Ordinance would weaken “one of the most important pillars of the fight against the pandemic”.
According to the new regulation planned by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), most people will have to pay an additional three euros per test for the so-called citizen tests from July. They should only remain free for certain risk groups, including children up to five years of age or women at the beginning of pregnancy. The federal states should be able to take over the three-euro citizen's share if they wish. The regulation is intended to reduce billions in costs for the federal government.
According to an overview by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV), between July 2021 and May 2022, monthly costs of between around 600,000 euros and 7 million euros were incurred for the citizen tests in Thuringia, with total expenditure during this period amounting to around 31.2 million euros.
