Before further consultations on the controversial hospital reform, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach emphasized the urgency of the plans. "We are at the beginning of an uncontrolled hospital death," said the SPD politician of the "Bild" newspaper. "Without the reform, 25 percent of hospitals would probably die." Even with the changes he is striving for, Germany will lose hospitals, Lauterbach conceded - but "without reform much more and unsystematically," he underlined. Municipal clinics in particular are often unable to keep up at the moment.
Bavarian Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) once again called on Lauterbach to revise his reform plans. The countries must be able to decide for themselves what supply takes place where, he told the editorial network Germany. "Anything else is unconstitutional." It should not come to the point that the "green table in the Berlin bubble" decides on the local hospitals. "I see the current proposals of the reform endangering the supply close to home, especially in territorial states such as Bavaria," he warned.
Remuneration system to be changed
In the struggle for the reform, Lauterbach will meet this Thursday in Berlin for further consultations with his country colleagues. The Federal Minister had made it clear that he was aiming for more concrete proposals for a law over the summer. In essence, the remuneration system with lump sums for treatment cases is to be changed in order to relieve hospitals of economic pressure.
Hospitals would have to specialize. "Not everyone can do everything," Lauterbach said. In rural areas, this may mean a longer journey for knee or hip surgery, but a better result.
Discussions are being held with the federal states above all about planned classifications of the hospital network with appropriate financing - from basic care close to home to a second stage with further offers to maximum care providers such as university hospitals. Uniform quality criteria are also planned so that hospitals can provide certain services. The industry had recently once again warned of acute financial difficulties for many hospitals.