Health - Parliamentary groups: Lauterbach endangers Thuringian hospitals
The Left and CDU state parliamentary factions have accused Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) of endangering the hospital landscape in Thuringia with his clinic reform. Lauterbach is still not fulfilling his obligation to ensure sufficient financial security for comprehensive clinic coverage, stated Left health policy spokesperson Ralf Plötner on Thursday. "His constant hedging is driving Thuringian clinics into insolvency," also commented CDU state parliamentarian Christoph Zippel. Lauterbach had introduced the draft law for the clinic reform in the Bundestag on Thursday.
The reform aims to reduce financial pressure on clinics and anchor uniform quality regulations. For this, the remuneration is to be changed. Currently, there are flat rates for treatment cases. Clinics should receive 60 percent of the remuneration just for offering certain services in the future. The basis of financing by health insurance companies should be more precisely defined service groups that also set minimum requirements.
The transition phase up to now is particularly economically challenging for small hospitals. Plötner referred to the most recent insolvency of the hospital Schleiz. This shows the flawed nature of the current financing system.
The small hospital with around 100 beds is currently undergoing restructuring in self-administration. The state had reportedly paid a provisional overdraft guarantee for bridge financing in the amount of two million euros according to statements from the Health Ministry in April.
Zippel also holds the Thuringian Health Ministry responsible for the situation of the hospitals. In the recently presented guidelines for the new hospital plan, no decisions were made but rather delayed.
Lauterbach's CDU and Left critics in Thuringia's Bundestag caution that his clinic reform could exacerbate financial instability in local hospitals. They argue that his proposed changes to remuneration, shifting from flat rates to service-based payments with minimum requirements, might be too soon for small hospitals struggling during the transition phase. The insolvency of Schleiz Hospital, which received temporary bridge financing from the state, is cited as a symptom of the current funding system's flaws. The SPD's Karl Lauterbach's reform, which aims to reduce financial strain on clinics and standardize quality regulations, faces criticism from both the Left and CDU factions in Thuringia's parliament. Zippel from the CDU also accuses the Thuringian Health Ministry of delaying decisions in the recently proposed hospital plan guidelines.
