Union demands billions for hospitals - even before reform
Ahead of the Minister Presidents' Conference, CDU/CSU parliamentary group leaders are insisting on financial relief for hospitals. A paper published on Sunday by the CDU/CSU parliamentary group chairmen's conference from Europe, the federal government and the federal states stated that hospitals must be relieved of operating costs quickly and effectively even before the hospital reform planned by the "traffic light" coalition.
Hospitals have long been calling for financial aid before the planned major reform - mainly due to increased costs caused by inflation. A few days ago, the state premiers joined in and demanded five billion euros in emergency aid from the federal government for clinics whose existence is threatened - also via a preliminary law before the end of this year.
The CDU parliamentary group leader in the Baden-Württemberg state parliament, Manuel Hagel, and the Bavarian CSU parliamentary group leader, Klaus Holetschek, are among those behind the demand paper. In addition to billions in emergency aid, they are also demanding more powers for the federal states following the hospital reform.
On Monday, the 16 heads of government of the federal states will meet with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for a major meeting to discuss refugee policy, the financing of the Deutschlandticket and the reorganization of hospitals. There are around 1900 hospitals nationwide with more than 480,000 beds.
The push for financial relief for hospitals, as stated in the CDU/CSU paper, is aimed at easing operating costs before the anticipated hospital reform. The federal states have further demanded five billion euros in emergency aid for financially struggling clinics, emphasizing the need for immediate action prior to the year's end.
Source: www.dpa.com
