Why are many hospitals in intensive care?

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Zoff in healthcare, once again. Hospitals want to adjust rates for inflation. The Federal Council and the health insurance companies want nothing to do with it. In SonntagsBlick, Santésuisse spokesman Matthias Müller justified the negative attitude with the argument that “many hospitals have been able to turn a profit in recent years”.

I’m sorry, what? Hospitals write profit? So what. Seriously: Yes, many hospitals make a profit. They even should, but unfortunately they are not high enough.

The new hospital funding scheme came into effect in 2012. Since then, hospitals have had to fund their own investments. You may find it good or bad. But it is a law and, therefore, an expression of political will.

If a hospital is to fund its own investments, it must make a profit. The operating profit margin must be at least 10 percent in order to be able to finance current investments.

It’s just silly that only about 25 percent of all hospitals are able to meet these requirements, accounting firm PWC explained in a study. Another 25 percent is really bad, they are in intensive care, so to speak. The remaining 50 percent are in poor health.

We have inflation. But there is no automatic cost-of-living adjustment. Health insurance companies say: higher rates? Even higher rewards? I can’t. The Federal Council is on your side. He is interested in premium health insurance. Hospitals are the business of the cantons.

The law requires hospitals to act in a businesslike manner. At the same time, they are not allowed to adjust prices in line with current inflation. So costs need to be reduced. In the case of service companies, this is only possible through staff.

But now, in November 2021, we have approved the exit initiative with a 61 percent yes. In doing so, we reaffirmed our commitment to combat the shortage of nurses and make the nursing profession more attractive. This is due to higher costs, there is no other way out. Or we cut services. But the people don’t want that either.

Surely there are other solutions. Instead of saving hospitals may close. The Berner Insel Group leads the way by closing its hospitals in Münsingen and in the Tiefenau district of Bern. Structural adjustment is definitely needed. However, this is unlikely to improve the profitability of hospitals. The second option is to knock on the door of the canton to cover the deficit. There are other examples: in November, the cantonal hospital in Aarau, mired in debt, applied to the government council for financial assistance in the amount of 240 million Swiss francs. While this is not at all compatible with the hospital funding mentioned at the beginning, this is just an example of how the healthcare system works in Switzerland – or just doesn’t work.

Source: Blick