Saxony's health insurance funds defend telephone sick notes

Large health insurance companies in Saxony are opposing calls for the abolition of telephone sick notes. This is shown by feedback from five health insurance companies at the request of Deutsche Presse-Agentur.

The background to this is the discussion about the sickness rate in Germany. Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had suggested that the possibility of telephone sick notes should be put to the test.

Insurers see advantages of telephone sick notes

The Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) expressly defends the procedure. "As the sick note by telephone is limited to five calendar days and may only be issued if the sick person is known to the practice and only has mild symptoms, it is a sensible alternative to a visit to the practice," explained Alexander Krauß, head of the TK regional office in Saxony.

DAK-Gesundheit also considers the regulation to be "fundamentally sensible", especially to relieve the burden on practices during waves of infection. A statistical evaluation of whether sick notes were issued by telephone or in person is not possible. The high sickness rate in recent years can rather be explained by "the statistical effect of electronic sick note recording since 2022" as well as by strong waves of infection.

Digital transmission changes data basis

Sick notes have been transmitted digitally directly to the health insurance companies since 2022 - the introduction took place under the then traffic light government. Prior to this, there was no automatic electronic reporting. According to the health insurance companies, this means that more cases are now recorded statistically than before.

No evidence of abuse

AOK PLUS explained that its data showed "no evidence that telephone or digital sick notes have increased the sickness rate". A nationwide evaluation also came to the conclusion that the proportion of telephone sick notes was only between 0.8 and 1.2 percent.

Barmer also sees no connection between telephone sick notes and absenteeism. "Our evaluations show no evidence that telephone sick notes or sick notes via video consultation are systematically abused," explained regional managing director Claudia Beutmann. The proportion is too small to have a significant impact on the overall trend.

The IKK classic (guild health insurance fund) also referred to the strict conditions. A sick note issued by telephone is usually valid for a maximum of five days and requires that the person concerned is known in the practice and is not seriously ill.

Sickness rate slightly down recently

According to several health insurance companies, the sickness rate in Saxony has recently fallen slightly. They cited respiratory diseases, mental illnesses and musculoskeletal disorders as the most common causes of incapacity for work.