The German Hospital Association (DKG) has issued a stern warning regarding an impending wave of bankruptcies and massive job cuts within the healthcare sector if the austerity package proposed by Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) is approved without modification.
According to Gerald Gaß, the association’s head, a recent study indicates that under the current plan, hospitals would be forced to lay off ten percent of their entire workforce. This would directly impact approximately 140,000 employees. Gaß further elaborated that experts predict that by 2030, without any adjustments to the cost-cutting measures, 49 percent of all hospital locations face a “high probability of failure,” meaning that one in two clinics could go bust. The Bundestag is scheduled to hold an expert hearing on the austerity package on Monday.
“If the savings are realized as planned, we will lose eight percent of our revenues in 2027. At that point, many hospitals will fall significantly below the break-even point,” Gaß stated. He argued that the reduction law is effectively undermining the financial stability of the hospitals. He warned that many clinics-which were supposed to be preserved, converted, or supplemented through the hospital reform-will collapse before that transformation can occur. Gaß urged the coalition to ensure that the hospital reform is actually put into action, stressing that the unplanned cutbacks jeopardize this necessary change and the objectives set for it.
Despite the fierce warning, Gaß expressed openness to finding compromises. The hospitals are willing to discuss limiting the recent sharp increases in nursing costs, noting that actionable steps are needed because a ceiling currently does not exist. To offset these financial pressures, he called for the removal of mandatory staff quotas. He criticized these quotas, stating, “There is no scientific evidence to determine if an intensive care nurse should be responsible for two, two and a half, or three patients. These are numbers derived from abstract calculations based merely on the principle: more is better.”
