NOS/Jeroen van Eijndhoven
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
90% of hospitals risk going into the red next year. This is due to rising personnel and energy costs and inflation. This is the conclusion of a study among 56 hospitals commissioned by the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ).
President Melkert emphatically asks Health Minister Kuipers (VWS) for help. “Hospitals now need all the resources to invest in the best care for the patient, good working conditions for healthcare professionals and the implementation of the recently concluded Integral Care Agreement.”
Hospitals are not allowed to raise healthcare rates to generate more revenue to absorb rising energy and wage costs. The NVZ therefore asked the ministry for help for some time. But VWS is referring hospitals to health insurers for help. According to the NVZ, they are not giving home for the moment, as they noted during the ongoing contract negotiations.
Reforms in progress
And this as time is running out, according to NVZ. If hospitals no longer have financial stability, there may be a scenario where they cannot afford the costs of the reforms, as agreed in the Comprehensive Care Agreement.
This deal, effectively a working agenda, is already shaky because GPs have so far refused to sign. They don’t trust that health insurers will honor their agreements.
