Doctors and psychotherapists in rural areas; applying for the rural doctor premium

The Free State of Bavaria grants a bonus for the establishment of doctors' practices, the founding of medical care centers (MVZ) and the formation of branches in regions with poorer medical care.

Die Landarztprämie (LAP) - Online-Antrag
You can apply for the rural doctor premium online.

For contact details of the responsible authoritiy and local valid information select under "Select location" a location.

Purpose and aim of the rural doctor premium

Sufficient outpatient medical care close to home is largely guaranteed in Bavaria. Due to unfavorable developments in infrastructural and socio-demographic factors, an accumulation of special challenges, such as the combination of an ageing population with an increased need for medical care and an ageing medical profession as well as unfavorable accessibility and mobility, can lead to inadequate medical care in individual cases. For these regions, which often have a rural character, it is often more difficult to attract enough doctors to work as contract doctors in order to stabilize the supply situation in the long term. The rural doctor bonus is intended to provide financial compensation for these particular challenges and thus encourage the decision to set up a practice, establish medical care centers (MVZ) and set up branches in the rural doctor bonus area.

Beneficiaries

The following groups of doctors can be recipients of the rural doctor premium:

General practitioners
Gynaecologist
Pediatricians
Ophthalmologist
Surgeon
Dermatologist
ENT doctor
Neurologist
Orthopedist/Orthopedist
Urologist/urologist
Psychotherapist
Child and adolescent psychiatrist.

Amount of the premium

The amount of the rural doctor's premium for psychotherapists setting up a practice and for setting up an MVZ specializing in psychotherapy is up to EUR 20,000. If a branch is set up, the rural doctor's premium is up to 5,000 euros.
The amount of the rural doctor's premium for the establishment of a medical practice or the establishment of an MVZ with one of the above-mentioned groups of doctors (except psychotherapy) is up to 60,000 euros. If a branch is set up, the rural doctor's premium is up to 15,000 euros.
The amount of the rural doctor's premium is reduced by half in the case of a half supply mandate and by a quarter in the case of a three-quarter supply mandate.
The above-mentioned funding amounts are reduced in accordance with No. 5.4 of the Landarztprämienrichtlinie in the event of simultaneous funding on the basis of the Sicherstellungsrichtlinie der Kassenärztlichen Vereinigung Bayerns.

The establishment must take place in the Landarztprämiengebiet.
The Landarztprämiengebiet is any planning area of the demand plan of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians in Bavaria (planning area) for which the State Committee of Physicians and Health Insurance Funds in Bavaria has not ordered any admission restrictions pursuant to Section 103 (1) SGB V, unless exceptions are possible pursuant to Section 100 (3) SGB V, Section 101 (1) sentence 8 and (4) sentences 5 and 6 SGB V or Section 103 (2) sentence 4 SGB V despite the admission restrictions. An exception also exists if the admission restrictions ordered for the planning area would have to be lifted at the next regular meeting of the state committee in accordance with Section 103 (3a) and (4) SGB V without the intended practice succession, or if an immediate serious local care deficit would arise and adequate co-care of the local population by other doctors participating in the SHI-accredited medical care would not be possible or reasonable.

In addition, the rural doctor premium directive requires that

doctors in the group of child and adolescent psychiatrists must be located in a Bavarian municipality with a population of no more than 40,000 or
Doctors from the other groups of doctors establish themselves, form a branch or found an MVZ in a Bavarian municipality with no more than 20,000 inhabitants,
the commencement of medical practice (cut-off date) has taken place and the application for the rural doctor premium has been submitted within six months of the cut-off date at the latest,
the recipient of the rural doctors' premium undertakes to maintain the medical activity for which the premium applied for is granted for at least 60 months from the reference date at the practice location and to actually carry out the medical activity during this period to the extent applied for at the practice location in the rural doctors' premium area specified in the application (commitment period).

an extract from the register of physicians of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVB), date of printing after the beginning of medical practice
the decision under licensing law on the applicant's activity as a panel doctor or the establishment of an MVZ or the approval of the KVB to establish a branch office
If necessary, further individual documents

Applications must be submitted electronically via the Bavarian form server (IT-DLZ) using the application form provided there.

Since 01.04.2023, registration/application via the Bayern-ID or the online ID function of the ID card is required.

Instructions and information on the individual registration procedures (BayernID or online ID function) can be found under "Further links".

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The application must be submitted within six months of taking up medical practice and the application must be received by the State Office for Health and Food Safety within this period. Please note that the initial registration/login via the Bayern-ID or the online ID function of the ID card may take a few days.

The processing time is usually approx. 4 - 6 weeks.

The establishment, branch formation or foundation of the MVZ must be in accordance with the medical demand planning and the licensing decision must have been made.