The corona rapid test is now part of everyday life for many people. But apparently the operators of the test sites can cheat en masse.
Berlin – For everyday tasks, such as going to the hairdresser’s, people in Germany need a negative rapid test for the corona virus. But apparently the regulations on the free tests open the door to all citizens. A report that has now been published indicates serious deficiencies in billing.
As reported by NDR, WDR and “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, the operators of test centers do not even have to prove that they have bought rapid antigen tests in order to be reimbursed. It is sufficient if you forwarded the naked number of those tested to the respective associations of statutory health insurance physicians, after which the money flows – apparently no receipt has to be presented.
Corona rapid test fraud? Federal Ministry of Health rejects responsibility
According to the report, the background to the problem is the test regulation of the Federal Ministry of Health. There it is expressly stated that the information to be transmitted must “have no relation to the tested person”.
The Federal Ministry of Health referred to the responsibility of the federal states and the associations of statutory health insurance physicians in the federal states. The commissioning and establishment of the test centers will be carried out by the federal states, said a ministry spokesman on Friday (May 28, 2021). These are responsible for ensuring the quality of the services provided. This also includes checking whether the staff has been trained and whether the accounts are correct.
The spokesman said that the further audit of the accounts was carried out by the national associations of statutory health insurance physicians. Completeness and plausibility would be checked. The ministry spokesman also pointed out that the data would have to be kept for control until the end of 2024.
Operators of corona test sites hardly need any prerequisites
In the report by WDR, NDR and “Süddeutscher Zeitung” it was said that anyone who wants to offer free tests usually hardly has to meet any requirements. An online course on smear collection is sufficient in many places, then an application for opening a test center can be submitted to the health department. This is usually approved without difficulty. According to the report, North Rhine-Westphalia alone recorded 1,862 test sites in mid-March, then 5,776 in mid-April and 8,735 in mid-May.
The test centers can charge 18 euros per test. An overview of how much money has now been spent on these tests is hard to come by, according to the report. Baden-Württemberg announced that in April it was 62 million euros, in Bavaria it was more than 120 million euros by mid-May. The money is distributed through the associations of statutory health insurance physicians, who in turn get it reimbursed from tax revenues.
Corona rapid test fraud suspected: #TestGate is trending on Twitter
The three media reported on research in several North Rhine-Westphalian test centers. They compared the processes there with an internal database in the country, in which the reports of the tests carried out are recorded. Accordingly, the journalists counted significantly fewer visitors to the test centers than were subsequently reported to the country.
After the report, the hashtag #TestGate trended on Twitter. The satirist Christina Schlag wrote on the short message service: “To everyone who has lost their job due to the pandemic: Just open a test center. Seems to be worth it. “EU politician Dennis Radtke (CDU) said:” Anyone who draws a line after the pandemic (and) finds out how much money has been smoked must probably go directly under the oxygen tent. ” “Emergency brake for soldiers of fortune”. (tvd / AFP)
