[How do employees of cancer counseling centers and their providers evaluate the funding of outpatient cancer counseling centers by health insurance funds - A qualitative interview study].

Since 2020, cancer counselling centers (CCCs) have been eligible for funding from health insurance funds under the legal regulation on "Outpatient Cancer Counseling" (§65e SGB V). This article investigates the rationale for or against applying for funding and evaluates the funding option from the perspective of staff members at both funded and non-funded CCCs, as well as sponsoring organizations. The aim is to analyse the practical feasibility of the financing model.We conducted a qualitative study using guided expert interviews with employees of CCCs and sponsoring organizations. The institutions for interview participation were selected from all existing CCCs and sponsoring organizations, taking into account factors such as size, region, and funding status of the CCC through a quota-based random selection process. The interviews were analyzed using content-structural evaluation methods according to Kuckartz.The analysis is based on statements from 44 expert interviews, including 17 funded CCCs, 9 non-funded CCCs, 6 CCCs with changing status, and 12 sponsoring organizations. The funding option was generally rated positively and recognized as a significant advancement for outpatient cancer counselling. With regard to the required minimum number of consultations, it should be noted that the majority of CCCs considered this to be achievable. However, certain structural aspects were criticized, particularly regarding the allocation process, funding stability, and the requirements of financial auditing. Issues such as the remaining uncertainty of stable financing, and the insufficient recognition of essential work areas, such as group services, were highlighted, as well as the inadequate consideration of differences in service mandates, especially for CCCs in rural areas.The partial funding of outpatient CCCs by health insurance funds is an important step towards stable financing and standardization in outpatient cancer counselling. Future amendments should aim to ensure long-term security and flexibility of funding options in order to maintain comprehensive, needs-based and quality-assured cancer counselling in Germany with a growing proportion of cancer survivors, a significant proportion of whom have psychosocial problems and need counselling.