The government initiates hospital renovation program.
The debated restructuring of medical centers is making advancements. The authorities are forwarding drafts of significant alterations to parliament, resulting in ongoing discussions. The German Hospital Association is one of the entities voicing objections.
German hospitals must endure less financial strain and specialize more in therapeutic services, according to Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach's legislative initiatives revealed on Wednesday. "Today is an excellent day for patients," Lauterbach remarked after the announcement in Berlin.
The initiative intends to displace the existing payment system with flat-rate costs for medical procedures. In the future, clinics will receive 60% of their compensation for providing specific services. The financing foundation by health insurance companies should also be more distinctively defined regarding "service groups." These should outline certain hospital treatments more explicitly and guarantee uniform national quality standards.
Lauterbach expressed that the administration is halting the emergency brake with the reform. He highlighted the potential risk of hospital bankruptcies, substandard treatment, and lengthy distances without changing the structures of inpatient care. The new regulations are expected to guarantee high-quality inpatient care for all in a society aging. "We will therefore replace flat rates per case, which currently often determine medical practice, with flat rates per case and quality regulations. Then medical necessity will determine treatment, not economics." Lauterbach reiterated in Berlin that quality of care would not be negotiable.
The federal states have protested against the proposals. Nevertheless, Lauterbach has redesigned the law to no longer require its approval in the Bundesrat. The draft will now be examined in Germany's parliament. The law is set to take effect at the beginning of 2025, with implementation gradually occurring in subsequent years. According to Lauterbach, execution will take ten years and there is a conversion budget of 50 million euros.
"This reform will not achieve all these goals"
The German Hospital Association's Vice President, Thomas Lemke, contends that the reform will not attain its anticipated results. In an interview with ntv Frühstart, Lemke stated, "The aspirations this reform pursues: It must no longer be about money, de-economization, less bureaucracy, better quality, and ensuring that the few people we have are used more effectively—none of these objectives will be realized by this reform."
The German Hospital Federation accuses Health Minister Lauterbach of implementing a planned economy system within the hospital industry with this reform. "The actual intention behind this reform is that Mr Lauterbach has the intention to initiate a system transformation, moving from a centrally planned economic system logic in organizing what each hospital should do and achieve in each region of this country."
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
The reform proposals by Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach in Germany, aimed at reducing financial strain in hospitals and improving patient care, have drawn criticism from the German Hospital Association. Despite Lauterbach's announcement in Berlin that the reform will ensure high-quality inpatient care for all in a aging society and replace the current payment system with flat-rate costs, Thomas Lemke, the Vice President of the German Hospital Association, expressed doubts that the reform will achieve its intended goals.
The German Hospital Federation further accused Lauterbach of implementing a planned economy system within the hospital industry with this reform, contending that it is a move towards a centrally planned economic system logic for organizing what each hospital should do and achieve in different regions of the country.
This reform, while discussed in the context of improving hospital facilities in Germany as initially mentioned in the first text, faces critiques regarding its ability to meet its intended objectives and the potential for implementing a more centralized system within the hospital industry.
Source: www.ntv.de
