Several nursing associations have cautioned that high gasoline prices threaten the reliable provision of care to patients in rural areas. Sarah Lukuc, the chairman of the Federal Association for Care Management, told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (Wednesday editions) that “outpatient care is particularly affected by rising fuel prices because it depends on mobile, comprehensive services”. These increased costs usually cannot be covered in the short term. Consequently, there is a risk of reduced care options, especially in rural areas. According to the German Nursing Association, it is very difficult for the sector to absorb the rising operating costs. At the newspaper press conference, association chairman Markus Mai stated, “The strict calculation rates are not suitable for permanently balancing out such cost explosions”. Because nursing services cannot set their own prices like other industries, the fees for individual services are governed by fee structures agreed upon with the care insurance funds. Mai demanded immediate action, stating, “The federal government must react quickly now and first take measures to sustainably curb the fuel price development”. Among other demands, he called for state-mandated maximum prices, “so that such developments ultimately do not lead to services being taken offline due to economic circumstances and jeopardizing regional supply security”. This development is particularly dramatic in large, sparsely populated regions.
High Fuel Prices Threaten Rural Home Care Services
