According to the letter, the previous credit line was almost exhausted as of August 15, at around 738 million euros. The credit line is intended to provide liquidity to the university’s medical center, which has been running at a high loss for years. The budget and finance committee of the state parliament still has to approve an extension.
Deficit to be reduced to zero within five years
The reason for the deficit of around 113.6 million euros last year (2022: 65.1 million) is, among other things, the lack of revenue from hospital operations – a problem that the university hospital shares with many hospitals. According to the letter from the ministry, the higher interest rate level for new loans from the only university hospital in Rhineland-Palatinate is also having a negative impact. In addition, there are necessary pre-financing for investments in the course of the planned extensive renovation and new construction.
By the end of the year, the board of the university’s medical center is to develop a concept that will reduce the deficit to zero in five years. The committee was recently asked to do this by the supervisory board chaired by Health and Science Minister Clemens Hoch (SPD).
