The explosion in energy prices and high inflation are threatening medical care in the Miesbach district.
District administrator, clinic board and health minister are now demanding rapid help from the federal government.
District – The explosion in energy prices and high inflation are threatening medical care in the district of Miesbach.
As reported by the district office, district administrator Olaf von Löwis (CSU) and the board of directors of the Agatharied hospital, Benjamin Bartholdt, recently drew attention to the difficult situation of the clinic at their meeting with Bavaria's Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek (we reported): "Our hospitals are after The pandemic has been shaken for two years, and now big politicians are leaving the very hospitals that saved us through the pandemic out in the rain with extreme price increases," said Löwis.
The prices for clinical services are fixed by law, which is why cost increases cannot be passed on.
The so-called base case value, on the basis of which clinics are reimbursed for their operating costs by health insurance companies, will only increase by two to three percent in 2023.
At the same time, however, material costs alone have increased by six to ten percent.
"It is therefore essential for federal politicians to intervene quickly and boldly," says Löwis.
Bartholdt emphasizes that the energy and inflation crisis is threatening the existence of hospitals.
Drugs, blood products and materials have become so expensive that even the Agatharied hospital cannot cope with this crisis without the help of federal politics.
"We receive almost daily new announcements from our suppliers who have to increase their prices," Barthold is quoted as saying in the announcement from the district office.
The clinic is necessary for the supply of the region.
“We treat more than 20,000 inpatients and 30,000 outpatients every year.
But just to operate the medical devices, we need a lot of energy.”
At the meeting, Holetschek was open to the concerns of the district administrator and the clinic board.
"Bavaria has been working for weeks to ensure that the federal government absorbs the increasing financial burden on hospitals, rehabilitation and care facilities," explained the minister.
Together with Baden-Württemberg and Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria has introduced a corresponding Federal Council initiative.
"Without fast and unbureaucratic help from the federal government, insolvencies can hardly be avoided given the massive increases in energy and other material costs." Holetschek explained that the responsibilities are clearly defined.
Accordingly, the federal states bear the costs for the clinic infrastructure, the health insurance companies the operating costs.
Because the cash registers are at the limits of their resilience, the federal government has a duty.
Löwis thanked Holetschek for his support: "I'm glad that we have a health minister in Bavaria who always has an open ear for our problems and supports us, even in such challenging times." Holetschek presented the Agatharied hospital with a symbolic check for 3.3 million euros for the expansion of digitization.
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