Cancer-stricken entrepreneur Patrice Aminati reveals: "I'm being kept alive artificially"
On the TV show "Hart aber fair", Patrice Aminati sharply criticizes the German healthcare system. She calls for skin cancer screenings from the age of 14.
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- Patrice Aminati lives with skin cancer and says she is "artificially kept alive" thanks to medication.
- She sharply criticizes the planned billions in savings in the German healthcare system and calls for more prevention instead.
- Skin cancer screening from the age of 14 is particularly important to her.
Patrice Aminati has been living with a diagnosis of black skin cancer for three years. "I'm being kept alive artificially thanks to medication," explained the mother of a two-year-old daughter at the start of the "Hart aber fair" program with the topic "Expensive and mediocre - what's going wrong with doctors, clinics and health insurance companies?".
She wouldn't wish treatments such as expensive immunotherapies on anyone. "But it doesn't have to be," she added, because preventative care could save costs in the healthcare system.
This is precisely the aim of Federal Minister Nina Warken's healthcare reform. The statutory health insurance scheme (GKV) is set to save a total of 16.3 billion euros in 2027 in order to stabilize contribution rates. The abolition of skin cancer screening, which has been in place since 2008, could save around 240 million euros a year. For Aminati, this is not even a drop in the ocean: "Just what my cancer has cost in recent years...", she said.
Instead of scrapping screening, early detection should be offered from the age of 14. Information about screening options should also be increased: "I totally underestimated the risk," admitted the businesswoman, "I don't want others to make the same mistake."
CDU health politician Hendrik Streeck cleared up the misconception that skin cancer screening should not be restricted. Rather, it should be reviewed "whether skin cancer screening makes sense in this way or whether AI-supported screenings would be better", he emphasized. Only the effectiveness of the measure should be evaluated.
Aminati couldn't quite believe this and asked again: "It's not a decision?". It was only when doctor and TV presenter Eckart von Hirschhausen assured her that early detection would not be cut that she was reassured: "That's a nice result from the evening."
"No cuts and no decision," Streeck reiterated, and sided with Aminati: "The Contribution Stabilization Act only buys time, but we need to design a healthcare system and a vision that are prevention-centric," he said, adding: "That is the biggest lever."
"Digitalization as well positioned as with ESC results"
But not the only lever. Streeck emphasized that order must be brought to the system: "We have an extremely expensive healthcare system, but there is no proper control." A primary doctor could coordinate all medical appointments on the care pathway. "That means you need good digitalization," he said.
"In terms of digitalization, we are about as well positioned as we are in terms of the results of the Eurovision Song Contest," explained Andreas Gassen, Chairman of the Board of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and his comment caused laughter in the audience. But then he became serious again. He agreed with Streeck, saying that more control could also prevent appointment bottlenecks. "The main problem is uncontrolled access to all doctors. Nobody has to undergo a medical necessity test," he criticized.
In some regions, the statutory health insurance companies quickly reach a ceiling on remuneration. "If the budget is used up after 10 weeks, they (doctors) earn nothing at all," he said, describing the pressure on practices. Health economist Clara Schlagowski added that digital exchange must be facilitated through telemedicine, especially in these structurally weak regions.
