German government warns of hospital bankruptcy due to energy crisis and inflation

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned that “there is a real risk of hospital bankruptcy” due to the energy crisis and inflation that have gripped the country recently.

In statements to Channel One on German television, the minister, who belongs to the Social Democratic Party, said yesterday, Sunday: “If we don’t respond quickly and effectively, there will be closures”.

He made it clear that he would negotiate an increase in government aid with Finance Minister Christian Lindner on Tuesday, noting that he couldn’t say at all the amount of this aid now.

He expressed his doubts about the demands that called for the establishment of a special fund for hospitals, similar to the fund dedicated to increasing military expenditures, worth 100 billion euros, saying, “We cannot launch a special fund for every field,” and called for caution “as everything must be paid”.

The German Hospital Association had called mid-last week for rapid intervention from the government, warning of the possibility of closing many hospitals due to the economic crisis.

The association considered that setting a general ceiling for gas prices last March isn’t sufficient assistance, noting that the financing gap in in-kind and energy costs amounts to approximately 15 billion euros in 2022 and 2023.

Lauterbach commented on these figures, saying that he was aware of this calculation, but he couldn’t understand it.

“This means that the German Hospital Association has the ability to estimate how much gas will cost next year and how much will electricity cost,” noting that no one knows this.

The German minister added that what he can be certain of is that “hospitals will face severe liquidity problems in the coming months”, and that these problems must be resolved.

It is noteworthy that the number of hospitals in Germany is about 1900, with about 490,000 beds.