Cash injection saves clinics only in the short term

Federal Government decides to support the hospitals with billions of dollars

04/18/2013

The financial bottlenecks at numerous hospitals in Germany are to be remedied by an additional billions of dollars in support, so the current decision of the Federal Government. However, the structural problems of the hospitals are not solved in this way, said the German Hospital Association (DKG).

It is true that the Federal Government recognizes this with the Cabinet decision „the financial needs of the clinics, but does not solve them to the extent required“, said the DKG CEO Georg Baum. The aid package for the clinics includes allocations of an additional 1.1 billion euros this year and next, which are ultimately borne by health insurance companies. The latter, therefore, criticized the current decision-making process, but in view of the billions surpluses in their area, they have a tough argument.

The DKG chief executive emphasized that the now required „Funds for the supplements will come from the € 750 million cuts that will be withdrawn from hospitals this year and next.“ In addition, it is in view of the billions of surpluses in the statutory health insurance „a mandate of prioritization of medicine to allocate funds for overworked inpatient care and for staffing to improve infection prevention.“ According to Georg Baum, the funds provided can only cover a fraction of the actual cost increases at the clinics anyway.

Cabinet decision brings little improvement
For years, some hospitals have been in the red, because the increase in personnel and energy costs over the capped compensation adjustments can not be refinanced, explained the DKG Chief Executive. The Cabinet resolution alleviates the bottlenecks at the pits here, at least in the short term, but according to estimates by Georg Baum, the hospitals will remain „sit at about 25 percent of tariff increases.“ The now decided one-off payment does not improve the financing of personnel costs in the long term. In addition, it remains unclear whether the planned surcharges can also be fully realized since „the supplements in 16 federal states are yet to be negotiated with the fund associations“ the DKG.

More means for hygiene tasks
In addition to the one-time health care supplements, the clinics will also receive an increased allocation for hygiene tasks in the future. Additional funds will be made available here as part of the new hygiene program so that appropriate specialist staff can be hired in the hospitals, thus reducing the number of hospital infections (nosocomial infections). How comprehensive this problem actually is, is based on the estimates of the experts on the case numbers of hospital infections. For example, in a 2011 calculation, the German Society for Hospital Hygiene (DGKH), the Society for Hygiene, Environmental Medicine and Preventive Medicine (GHUP) and the Association of Physicians of the Public Health Service (BVÖGD) came to the conclusion that more than 700,000 patients suffer from a nosocomial infection per year in Germany and around 30,000 patients per year die as a result of such an infection.

Sustainable relief of the clinics required?
As part of the current Cabinet decision, the Federal Minister of Health Daniel Bahr also reminded that the individual federal states must also fulfill their task in the investments in the clinics. This is not an unjustified claim, as the high energy costs of the clinics are often due to a considerable rehabilitation backlog or could be significantly reduced by an energetic renovation of the clinics. Corresponding funding programs or allocations could significantly reduce the fixed costs of the clinics and create a sustainable relief effect. The currently decided, one-off cash injection creates this, however, not. This was also emphasized by Michael Philippi, CEO of Sana-Kliniken, one of the largest private clinic operators in Germany. Opposite the news agency „Reuters“ he explained that „In this way, no sustainable future orientation of the financing system is achieved.“ Therefore, the next federal government must fundamentally review hospital financing. (Fp)

Image: Michael Staudinger