136 hospitals in rural areas are receiving 67 million euros in funding from health insurance companies
04.07.2023 18:05
In the fourth year of payments, hospitals in rural areas that need the funding will receive a financial supplement to ensure inpatient care for the population. In the coming year, 136 hospitals in need will also receive flat-rate funding from statutory health insurance companies (GKV) and private health insurance companies (PKV). A total of 67.2 million euros will be paid in addition to normal hospital financing.
The amount of funding depends on the number of specialist departments available. If a hospital has one or two of the necessary specialist departments, it receives a supplement of 400,000 euros. An additional 200,000 euros is added for each additional specialist department required. The legal requirement is between 400,000 and 800,000 euros per house. In 2024, the surcharges will be distributed over 95 houses with 400,000 euros each, 18 houses with 600,000 euros each and 23 houses with 800,000 euros each.
Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis, board member at the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, explains: “In the fourth year of payments, hospitals in rural areas are currently receiving surcharges of 67 million euros. In this way, we want to ensure inpatient care in rural areas close to home so that patients, both large and small, receive quick and expert help, even in an emergency. The health insurance companies make a significant contribution to this with targeted flat-rate funding.”
“Hospitals must also be easily accessible for people in rural areas,” says Dr. Florian Reuther, director of the PKV association. “GKV and PKV make an important contribution to the targeted support of rural hospitals that are in need. It is particularly important to us to ensure the operational capability of children's clinics and specialist departments for child and adolescent medicine.”
Hospitals must meet the criteria of the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) for agreeing security surcharges in accordance with Section 136c Paragraph 3 Sentence 2 SGB V in order to be eligible for the surcharge. The contracting parties at the federal level (GKV National Association, German Hospital Association, PKV Association) agree annually on a list of hospitals that meet these criteria. Essential primary care hospitals that:
- have a specialist department for internal medicine and surgery and can also demonstrate the level of basic emergency care in accordance with the emergency level regulations of the G-BA,
- that have a specialist obstetric department, as well as hospital locations with a specialist department for pediatric and adolescent medicine that at least fulfill the basic emergency care for children module in accordance with the emergency level regulations of the G-BA.
- The surcharge for these essential hospitals is paid out even if the hospitals in question do not have a deficit.
You can find the list of all hospitals in need on the website National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, from the PKV Association and the German Hospital Society.