Health Economic Assessment of the New KVG Tariff Structure for Physiotherapy

On behalf of PROphysio, we reviewed the foundations of the new KVG tariff structure for physiotherapy. The report identifies open questions regarding the representativeness of the underlying time-recording data: there are indications that large practices with shorter treatment times may have been insufficiently represented. This would lead to an overestimation of average treatment times, which, through the tariff calculation, would result in lower tariff points per unit of time. Additional data analyses are required to determine whether such a bias actually exists.

The shift from treatment-based flat rates to time-based remuneration also changes the economic incentives created by the tariff. The previous financial advantage of shorter treatments is reduced because the flat rates are now being replaced by a time-based tariff. This weakens the incentives to maintain an efficient treatment duration, making longer sessions a plausible outcome. With staffing resources remaining unchanged, this reduces treatment capacity and may lead to longer waiting times and bottlenecks in access to care.