hospitals - Wide roads, long waits: Warn carriers about hospital death
"No one should say that there were no warnings given and he didn't know: In light of protest days and open letters, pleas for help and numerous conversations, the tone of the hospital care providers in the financially struggling Baden-Württemberg hospitals is becoming increasingly dramatic. The hospitals are running out of breath. To prevent a financial collapse and avoid closures for many of them, the federal government and the states must financially and massively intervene, demand the Hospital Society and the Communal Associations.
"The current economic situation of the Hospitals is as challenging as ever," warned the chairman of the Baden-Württemberg Hospital Society (BWKG), Landrat Heiner Scheffold. "The gap between rising costs and federally prescribed revenues is merciless." The deficits had increased significantly within a short period of time. This cannot be borne by the cities or the municipalities.
Under the umbrella of the Society, there are 478 care providers with 197 hospitals, 133 preventive and rehabilitation institutions, and 807 nursing homes.
Some clinics have already given up, said Joachim Walter, President of the County Council. "And we will see further massive cuts at one or another place by the end of the year." Patients will face more ways and longer waiting times. The municipalities are also forced to cut investments in other areas such as public transportation or the expansion of bike lanes.
Emergency program demanded
The counties are sounding the alarm because they carry many local hospitals - and thus the deficits. If the federal government does not step in - which is foreseeable - the land must still establish a 300 million euro emergency program this year to ensure patient care. Basically, the counties are not responsible for catching the deficits, Walter emphasized. "And that will simply no longer work."
Between 2018 and 2022, Baden-Württemberg counties have provided their hospitals with a total of around 1.6 billion euros in support. For the current year, they expect additional support payments of 790 million euros. "The counties are financially speaking, the air is running out. And this despite the lowest bed density nationwide," said Walter.
The Bund is demanded to increase Krankenhausvergütung
In addition, the Bund is demanded by the cities and counties to increase the so-called Krankenhausvergütung - that is, the costs that arise for the treatment and care of patients - by at least four percent. So that the gap between rising costs and revenues, which arose in the inflation years 2022 and 2023, can be closed, explain BWKG and Associations.
Future cost increases must be fully financed. Hospital closures and personnel reductions should not be forced by ever greater financial pressure.
The land is also asked for more money
The County Council President Joachim Walter (CDU) and the President of the City Council, Frank Mentrup (SPD), as well as the Hospital Society, are demanding more money for made investments to be transferred. "To meet the need, the annual investment financing must be increased by at least 300 million euros from 2025," it says in a corresponding paper. Part of this sum should be a necessary increase in the so-called Pauschalförderung by at least 100 million euros to 260 million euros per year.
The hospital association warned of an uncontrollable clinic death rate in hospitals last in April and requested financial support. "85 percent of hospitals in the country anticipate significant deficits by 2024," said BWKG Chairman Scheffold. Due to the poorer-than-expected results of the previous year, hospitals would be lacking more than 1.5 billion Euro in the years 2023 and 2024.
Hospital reform not yet passed
With a controversial hospital reform, the Federal Government aims to reduce financial pressure on hospitals and establish uniform quality regulations. This would involve changing the current flat-rate reimbursement for treatment cases.
In the future, clinics should receive 60 percent of the reimbursement for holding certain offers. The financing by health insurance companies should also be based on more precisely defined "performance groups." They should describe clinic treatments more precisely and set minimum requirements.
The states - including Baden-Württemberg - are demanding changes to the plans. The draft is now in discussions in the Bundestag. The law is set to take effect at the beginning of 2025, with implementation to follow in the years after that.
The hospital reform, aimed at reducing financial pressure on hospitals and establishing uniform quality regulations, is currently under discussion in the Bundestag. However, the states, including Baden-Württemberg, have expressed their demand for changes in the plans. (From the given text)
The hospital reform, if implemented, would involve changing the current flat-rate reimbursement for treatment cases to a system where clinics receive 60% of the reimbursement for holding certain offers. (Modifying the previous sentence with more specific details from the text)
The hospital association in Baden-Württemberg, in an effort to prevent a high clinic death rate in hospitals, had requested financial support last April, as 85% of hospitals in the state anticipated significant deficits by 2024. (New sentence incorporating the context from the text)
