Action Day of the Clinics: Health Minister Jung Supports Saarland Hospitals
On today's day of action, numerous clinics in Saarland are symbolically closing their main entrances to protest against the federal government's planned contribution rate stabilization law.
Health Minister Magnus Jung: "I stand behind the Saarland hospitals and emphasize the demand that the planned Contribution Rate Stabilization Act must be urgently adjusted. The need for a reform of the statutory health insurance is beyond question, but the measures decided by the federal government cause a high risk of insolvency in the hospital sector. This year, the hospitals have already contributed 1.8 billion euros to stabilize the contribution rate. Despite this, they will still be disproportionately burdened by the planned savings measures, as they are expected to bear nearly 40% of the cuts. This is out of proportion and threatens to endanger healthcare provision in Saarland in the short term."
A corresponding proposal will be submitted to the Bundesrat today, Friday. The proposal states that the austerity measures must not lead to the closure of hospitals and must not result in a cold and uncontrolled structural adjustment. The objective of the personnel care budget, which is to sustainably improve working conditions in nursing, must not fall victim to any savings. Instead, there is potential for relief by reducing the currently massive bureaucratic requirements, which is why the Bundesrat immediately calls for a bureaucracy reduction law.
Jung concluded: "In order to financially stabilize the statutory health insurance sustainably, the federal government must finally also cover the costs for non-insurance benefits such as those for citizens receiving basic income support. I cannot understand why the general federal subsidy is even supposed to be cut. The same applies to the abolition of spouse insurance without contributions, especially since the bureaucratic effort involved in implementation and the expected financial effect are not proportionate."
