- The CDU Group calls on the Minister for Health to take action
The CDU state parliamentary group has called on Health Minister Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD) to promptly present a new hospital plan for Saxony-Anhalt as part of the restructuring of the clinic landscape. "The situation in healthcare is serious," said parliamentary group leader Guido Heuer. One cannot simply rely on the planned reforms at the federal level, Saxony-Anhalt must take action itself. Grimm-Benne must finally present a realistic hospital plan for the state, said Heuer. The last hospital plan dates back to 2019. "She must act."
There are currently 44 hospitals with a total of 53 locations in Saxony-Anhalt. Many clinics are under financial pressure, complaining that their costs have increased significantly more than the revenues they receive from health insurance companies for treating patients. In addition, the number of cases has decreased compared to the time before the corona pandemic. Discussions about possible reforms have been ongoing at the federal and state levels for months. The hospital plan serves as the basis for the performance and quality agreements that the providers negotiate with the health insurance companies.
Concentrate severe cases
Last year, a study on the future of the hospital landscape in Saxony-Anhalt commissioned by the state government was presented. The experts recommend organizing basic care close to the place of residence and concentrating severe cases in larger hospitals.
Grimm-Benne had repeatedly referred to the fact that many hospitals were already cooperating and were on the way to reforms. However, this is not enough for the CDU parliamentary group. In Thuringia or North Rhine-Westphalia, the state governments are independently driving the hospital planning, said the social policy spokesman Tobias Krull. The structures in Saxony-Anhalt cannot remain as they are either. It is not about closures, but about creating focal points, said Krull.
Investment backlog to be eliminated
The Christian Democrats demand that the Ministry of Health immediately bring the clinic operators and health insurance companies to the table. "The work must now begin." To eliminate the investment backlog in hospitals, the CDU parliamentary group also calls for the establishment of a flat-rate funding of at least 50 million euros per year.
The FDP state parliamentary group had also recently called for a comprehensive concept for the hospitals in Saxony-Anhalt and criticized the Ministry of Health. The ministry of Petra Grimm-Benne (SPD) does not present any concrete progress, said the health policy spokesman Konstantin Pott. "Without clear planning and measures, the uncontrolled collapse of some hospital locations threatens."
The SPD's Health Minister Petra Grimm-Benne, as urged by the CDU, needs to present a new hospital plan for Saxony-Anhalt to address the serious healthcare situation, considering that relying on federal-level reforms alone is insufficient. The CDU also advocates for a focus on eliminating the investment backlog in hospitals, proposing a flat-rate funding of at least 50 million euros annually.
