Health Minister wants to prevent hospital deaths
Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia want to prevent hospitals from going bankrupt in the short term with a joint Bundesrat initiative. "Expenditure and income diverge - in very many cases in a way that threatens the existence of hospitals," said Schleswig-Holstein's Health Minister Kerstin von der Decken (CDU) in Kiel on Tuesday. "Numerous hospitals, including three in Schleswig-Holstein, have already had to file for insolvency. Others are under threat."
Specifically, the two states are calling for a one-off emergency aid program of five billion euros from the federal government and a four percent increase in the so-called state prime rate. Tariff increases should also be financed outside of the care budget. The calculation system for hospital remuneration is to be reviewed.
Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia want to use their proposal for the meeting of the state chamber on Friday to secure the hospitals' economic viability in the short term. They are calling on the federal government to ensure that current and future inflation- and tariff-related cost increases in hospitals are financed on a permanent basis. The facilities are in an extremely difficult economic situation, particularly due to higher energy costs, inflation and tariff increases.
"Hospitals therefore need effective support measures quickly in order to prevent further insolvencies and ultimately the uncontrolled death of even essential hospitals," said von der Decken. The federal government's reference to the announced hospital reform would not help. This would only take effect in the second half of the decade.
The Federal Council needs to consider providing permanent funding solutions for hospitals to cover inflation- and tariff-related cost increases, as mentioned by Kerstin von der Decken, to prevent further hospital bankruptcies and the closure of essential medical facilities. The Health Minister of Schleswig-Holstein underscores the urgency of implementing effective support measures, as delaying actions could potentially lead to the "uncontrolled death" of hospitals.
Source: www.dpa.com
