The budget is in place – the coalition in the state of Berlin announced this Monday. It remains to be seen whether the governing parties are on the side of the city’s clinics. It is at least planned that the 60 houses will receive more money for investments than originally planned. According to information from the Berliner Zeitung, 220 million euros for this year and 306 million for 2023, plus eleven million for the Green Hospital climate protection program. The previous draft budget assumed around 300 million for both years.
Part of the sum is to be raised through loans. How exactly the financing will look like is not yet known. It may be that the household stands. That he is a start to lead the hospitals out of their misery must remain open. In any case, it cannot be more than such a beginning. The investment backlog has now totaled 2.1 billion euros because the governments in Berlin, from whatever party, have evaded their legal obligations for years.
The treatment costs are no better. The pay the health insurance via case flat rates. The system sets false incentives, it has had its day. A fundamental reform is not in sight. The federal government would be responsible for this, as it shows little initiative in this field.
Whatever amount the Senate is committed to, whatever the credit construct may look like: the clinics will have to continue to save, especially in a sensitive area: the staff. In the end, the patient pays – in extreme cases with his life. But as a rule, it is he who clearly feels the cost pressure.
It may be that the household stands. But the future of the Berlin hospitals is also – still in the stars.
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