Health center located in Ludwigslust. - Lauterbach mentions enhancements versus current status.
German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is hopeful about a monetary resolution for full coverage via rural hospitals in the context of the hospital reform. "The reform can also accomplish this. I am confident we will reach an agreement," Lauterbach remarked throughout a journey to the Helene von Bülow Clinic in Ludwigslust on Thursday afternoon. Concurrently, the federal administration can't abandon the high-quality aspect of the hospital reform.
Lauterbach views the reform as a tremendous opportunity for smaller local clinics in underpopulated places. The reform will be a boon for states like Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as small hospitals in the region will emerge from a deficit situation, Lauterbach noted previously at the National Healthcare Industry Conference in Rostock.
The rationale for the Ludwigslust visit is the predicament in the sparsely populated state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Rural hospitals are facing financial strain due to their low population density, so the district took control of the insolvent hospital in Crivitz from the Mediclin Group in 2021. In 2023, the church hospital operator Stift Bethlehem relinquished 25.1% of its shareholding in its two clinics in Ludwigslust and Hagenow to the district. Since then, the district has possessed 75.1% and has therefore facilitated the establishment of a municipal hospital alliance in the region with the goal of preserving all three spots and fostering synergy effects.
"To ensure that all healthcare facilities can endure in the long term, a revision of the hospital landscape is urgently needed," said Christine Klingohr, health policy spokesperson for the SPD state legislative committee, in a media statement. "We're thus delighted that Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is spearheading this extensive reform." With the hospital reform, the number of patients no longer governs the future of a healthcare facility.
From Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's viewpoint, the funding for need-based, small hospitals with a population-dependent low quantity of patients is still inadequate. "We therefore require a base financing for the actual operating expenses of safety net hospitals," Health Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD) was quoted as saying in a media statement.
"The 60% operating subsidy we provide, that can undeniably be calculated," said Lauterbach. "We also pay additional incentives." This way, "the healthcare facilities can make a profit. That's all enhancements compared to prevailing conditions."
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- During his visit to the Helene von Bülow Clinic in Ludwigslust, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) expressed confidence that the hospital reform can address the financial challenges faced by rural hospitals in sparsely populated regions like Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
- Previously, at the National Healthcare Industry Conference in Rostock, Lauterbach highlighted the reform's potential benefits for smaller local clinics, especially in underpopulated areas.
- The SPD state legislative committee's health policy spokesperson, Christine Klingohr, welcomed Lauterbach's leadership in the extensive hospital reform, stressing the need for a revised hospital landscape to ensure the long-term survival of healthcare facilities.
- In Ludwigslust, a district took control of the insolvent hospital in Crivitz from the Mediclin Group in 2021, while the church hospital operator Stift Bethlehem relinquished a shareholding in its clinics in Ludwigslust and Hagenow to the district.
- Lauterbach mentioned that the hospital reform would provide a monetary resolution for full coverage in rural hospitals, with additional incentives to help these facilities make a profit, compared to their current conditions.
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