The amendments to Germany’s hospital reform adopted by the Bundestag on Friday are expected by the Left to worsen the staffing crisis in hospitals.
According to Left leader Ines Schwerdtner, the few tweaks to the reform do not improve the situation and will not save any hospital from closure in the long run. “Instead of relieving hospitals of profit pressure, the changes amount to a handful of placebos with dangerous side effects” she said.
The reform’s planned combination of case‑based payments and so‑called “pseudo‑prepayment financing” would make it attractive for hospitals to treat as many patients as possible while staffing minimally. This, Schwerdtner argued, amplifies the already intense workload on nurses. “The consequences are already clear: more workers are switching careers or moving to part‑time because the stress becomes unbearable. The federal government is tightening the staffing crunch further, endangering patient care” she warned.
She called for the government to address the root causes rather than merely treating symptoms, suggesting that removing the profit motive from hospitals would curb the relentless chase for cost efficiency that has hollowed out and corrupted the health system. “Hospitals should not make profits; they should heal patients”.
In concrete terms, the Left demands that the health minister extract all personnel costs from the case‑based payments and that health insurance funds fully cover staffing expenses. By doing so, salaries and staff ratios would no longer be squeezed by cost‑cutting pressures on hospitals.