The statutory health insurers are hoping the Bundestag will give the hospital reform a green light on Friday, but their optimism for major savings has been muted.
“The compromise that emerged after long, difficult negotiations has more light than shadow. Enacting the reform would therefore be better than postponing it again” said Stefanie Stoff‑Ahnis, deputy chair of the board of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV‑Spitzenverband), to the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”.
Stoff‑Ahnis expressed dissatisfaction with how far the health minister has accommodated the federal states. She listed the dilution of personnel‑quality requirements and extended transition periods as major concessions. “It would have been better to tighten these measures, to put even greater focus on quality of patient care, and to accelerate the consolidation of the hospital landscape” she added.
The still‑in‑process reform, introduced by the coalition government, sets volume limits for specific procedures and calls for the amalgamation of hospitals-partly to trim staff costs. “If it finally passes today, we will have made a solid start” the GKV vice‑chair told “noz”. “What must not happen is that the states continue to block the necessary steps, including the closure of hospitals that are not essential for care. The risk remains present”. She emphasized that patients, for whom it may mean traveling a bit farther, would receive optimal care from experienced specialists.
Another concern is that, given the concessions to the states, savings will be, at best, modest. “This is all the more problematic because last year hospital spending rose to €111 billion” Stoff‑Ahnis said. “Now more than ever, the fiscal commission must propose truly effective cost‑cutting measures for the hospital sector-measures that will actually be implemented”.