Huge bed cuts being considered by German Ministry of Health
publication date: Mar 3, 2010
A long term massive 20-30% reduction in hospital beds is the most likely policy to emerge from the new German government, according to Dr Wolfram Otto, head of Polikum, the second largest private outpatient clinic chain in the country.
He says that Ministry of Health, under its new broom Free Democrat Philipp Rosler, is talking internally about very large cuts with the number of hospitals falling from 2,200 and 1,500 over the years. He says this would equate to a cut in beds of 20-30%.
However, such cuts have not as yet been made public and others are more sceptical. Volker Braun at Commerzbank agrees that such cuts are definitely part of the policymaking discussion, but adds: “These numbers are emanating from position reports from advisers like Boston Consulting Group, rather than from the government itself. They are not being reported in the press.”
Otto says that such cuts would be made over several years, but Braun thinks that cuts like these, no matter how bad the German healthcare deficit, are unlikely. “It would be suicide for a politician to carry through such measures.”
Andreas Bievers, an academic at the Institute for Health Economics says: "In a way such cuts are nothing new. The previous social democrat government also wanted to make cuts." He thinks that despite the very strong support for the Free Democrats from doctors, that it is possible that such cuts could be passed.
"Doctors are the most important constituency for the The Free Democrats. In particular, doctors do not want to see the state increase control over outpatient activities, where they are free to run their own businesses. They also fear the big hospital groups will set up outpatient units which will take away their patients - hence their desire to ensure that all outpatient clinics are majority owned by doctors." He says nothing will be announced before the forthcoming regional elections in Nord Rhein Westphalien, the largest German region.
He says that Ministry of Health, under its new broom Free Democrat Philipp Rosler, is talking internally about very large cuts with the number of hospitals falling from 2,200 and 1,500 over the years. He says this would equate to a cut in beds of 20-30%.
However, such cuts have not as yet been made public and others are more sceptical. Volker Braun at Commerzbank agrees that such cuts are definitely part of the policymaking discussion, but adds: “These numbers are emanating from position reports from advisers like Boston Consulting Group, rather than from the government itself. They are not being reported in the press.”
Otto says that such cuts would be made over several years, but Braun thinks that cuts like these, no matter how bad the German healthcare deficit, are unlikely. “It would be suicide for a politician to carry through such measures.”
Andreas Bievers, an academic at the Institute for Health Economics says: "In a way such cuts are nothing new. The previous social democrat government also wanted to make cuts." He thinks that despite the very strong support for the Free Democrats from doctors, that it is possible that such cuts could be passed.
"Doctors are the most important constituency for the The Free Democrats. In particular, doctors do not want to see the state increase control over outpatient activities, where they are free to run their own businesses. They also fear the big hospital groups will set up outpatient units which will take away their patients - hence their desire to ensure that all outpatient clinics are majority owned by doctors." He says nothing will be announced before the forthcoming regional elections in Nord Rhein Westphalien, the largest German region.