Hospital costs reach record levels

Health insurance: record spending at the clinics

25/02/2012

The expenditures of the legal health insurances (GKV) for hospitals rose again clearly. The health insurance funds transferred about 60 billion euros to the clinics in 2011.

Hospital expenses reached a new record high. Never before have statutory health insurance companies had to raise as much money for hospital care as in 2011. According to the GKV umbrella association, clinic costs are developing into one of the key health care cost drivers.

Cost increase at the hospitals highest
„Even if the hospital representatives try again and again to give a different impression“, receive „the clinics as much money as never before from the legal coffers“, emphasized the deputy chairman of the GKV-Spitzenverbandes, Johann-Magnus von Stackelberg, to the news agency „AFP“. Thus, the clinics had in 2011 with 4.2 percent cost increase, the highest rate of increase in the entire health service, said the vice-chairman of the GKV-Spitzenverbandes. According to the association's calculations, the average cost increase in healthcare in the first three quarters of 2011 was only 2.5 percent.

Structural reforms demanded at the clinics
In his statement, the deputy chairman of the GKV-Spitzenverband demands structural reforms of the hospitals in view of the increase in hospital costs. Actually could „It is expected that the hospital representatives will show how they use the extra money to improve patient care“, Johann-Magnus von Stackelberg underlined what he saw as a need for reform. The initiative aims, for example, at facilitating direct contracts between health insurances and hospitals. „If health insurance companies are allowed to impose plannable benefits, they could focus on quality and cost-effectiveness in patient care“, emphasized Johann-Magnus von Stackelberg.

More outpatient, less inpatient care of the population?
At the beginning of the year, the CEO of Barmer GEK, Christoph Straub, had clearly criticized the structure of the hospital landscape in Germany and described it as one of the reasons for the too high costs in the healthcare system. „We afford structures that are larger and more expensive than in other countries“, so the statement of Straub. The Barmer GEK boss was in favor of fully implementing the austerity measures planned by the German government in the area of ​​the clinic, even if this sometimes meant the closure of numerous hospitals. The raised „economic pressure“ offer a good opportunity, „to change the outdated structures“ and to reorganize the traditional coexistence of hospitals and medical practices, Straub explained. In the opinion of the Barmer GEK chief, the medical care of the population should be much more often on an outpatient basis or during short hospital stays. (Fp)

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Picture: Rainer Sturm