Clinics in need Every third person is in the red

One third of clinics in the red

17/01/2013

The clinics throughout Germany are struggling with growing financial problems. Almost every third hospital wrote red figures in 2011, reports the German Hospital Association (DKG) with reference to a representative survey by the German Hospital Institute (DKI). By the „poor payment behavior of the cash registers“ The situation is further exacerbated, the statement in the current press release of the DKG.

The DKI survey showed a significant increase in clinics with financial difficulties. In 2010, 21 per cent of hospitals wrote in the red, compared to 31 per cent in 2011, and the trend is upward. All in all „The economic situation in the German hospitals noticeably worsened in the last two years“, reports the German Hospital Association. Around 60 percent of hospitals reported a reduction in their business results compared with the previous year.

Bad economic situation in many clinics
While the financial situation on the part of the health insurance funds has improved significantly in recent years and there are now billions of dollars in reserves, several clinics complain of increasing financial problems. Only one in four hospitals rated their economic situation as good in the DKI survey. Also for the future only few expect an improvement. Only 22 percent said their situation is likely to improve in 2013. On the other hand, 40 percent of the surveyed hospitals assume that their economic situation will continue to worsen. According to DKG are „the legislature's billion-dollar cuts at the expense of the clinics“ determining cause of the financial problems. Add to that „the continued high increases in personnel, energy and material costs, which clinics can not cover due to the prices also covered by the legislature“, reports the German Hospital Association.

Criticism of the payment behavior of the health insurance companies
The DKG calls in view of the financial difficulties of numerous clinics that the federal government „instead of reducing the hospitals 750 million euros in total for this and the coming year“, helps the clinics. Furthermore, the payment behavior of the health insurance companies is to be criticized. Two-thirds of the clinics are struggling with payment delays, which makes them all the harder in their already precarious financial situation. According to the DKG, the outstanding amounts of payment delays and refusals now amount to 1.1 billion euros nationwide. This will „the liquidity of the hospitals is severely impaired.“

Clinic closures accept
Instead of allowing hospitals more money, some public health insurance companies have already gone on the offensive with the demand for hospital closure in the past. In 2011, for example, the Chairman of the Board of Management of Barmer GEK pleaded for the closure of numerous clinics in the future. The smaller hospitals in communal sponsorship should not be allowed to pay the savings contribution from the health care reform adopted in 2011, even if this results in the closure of numerous facilities. The raised „economic pressure“ be a chance too, „to change the outdated structures“, which are one of the reasons for the excessive health care costs. Here, the traditional juxtaposition of hospitals and medical practices must be broken up and the medical care of the population much more often outpatient or during only short hospital stays, according to the then demand of the Chairman of the Barmer GEK. (Fp)

Image: Harald Wanetschka