Bad news for patients and hospitals
27.11.2023 15:29
With a narrow majority, the Federal Council voted on November 24th. called the Mediation Committee on the Hospital Transparency Act. The deputy chairman of the AOK federal association, Jens Martin Hoyer, explains:
“With the appeal to the Mediation Committee, the process of passing the Hospital Transparency Act has been stopped for the time being. This is initially bad news for patients, because the intention of the law to create more transparency about the differences in quality between individual hospitals is right and important.
It is noteworthy that the federal states are holding up a law that also provides for accelerated payment of care budgets - even though the calls from hospitals to secure their solvency are becoming louder and louder.
The additional financial injections for hospitals demanded by the states in the Federal Council today are not an alternative. They would result in an additional premium increase of at least 0.3 contribution rate points in 2024. This is not justifiable given the already increasing burdens on those paying contributions.
We hope that those involved will now quickly agree on a compromise that does not dilute the sensible approach of the law and ensures the solvency of the clinics that need it in a timely manner without placing an additional burden on the insured and employers.”