Hospital reform: Green politician calls for real investment instead of tricks!

Hospital reform: Green politician calls for real investment instead of tricks!

On June 1, 2025, the Federal Audit Office will criticize the insufficient financial participation of the states in the hospital reform. The Green Party's health politician, Armin Grau, describes this criticism as a wake-up call. He emphasizes that the federal states have not fulfilled their obligation to finance hospital investments for years. To counteract this deficiency, the Transformation Fund is brought into play, which is intended to play a central role in the reform of the health sector and aims to promote necessary restructuring and investments in hospitals. This fund is intended to support hospitals in restructuring, mergers and new construction, with half of the financing coming from the federal and state governments, according to Grau MRN News.

The current discussion is complicated by the planned measures of the black-red coalition, which plans to use funds from the special infrastructure fund for operating cost gaps in hospitals. This approach is criticized as misappropriation, which causes concern in both the political and public spheres.

Details about the transformation fund

The transformation fund is worth up to 25 billion euros, which comes from the health fund's liquidity reserve. In order for the entire sum to be accessed, the federal states must also invest 25 billion euros. This co-financing could also take place, among other things, through the hospital owner contributing to the costs, which opens up new opportunities for hospitals.

The federal states also have leeway, as partial payments and subsequent applications for funding are possible. Funding applications are processed unbureaucratically by the Federal Office for Social Security (BAS), which will also publish current data on the funding process online every month. In the future, applications and administration of the transformation fund will be carried out digitally via an online portal, which should significantly reduce bureaucratic effort.

Eligible projects and objectives

The transformation fund aims to create high-quality inpatient care structures. Eligible projects include, but are not limited to:

• Konzentration akutstationärer Versorgungskapazitäten
• Umstrukturierung bestehender Krankenhausstandorte in sektorenübergreifende Versorgungseinrichtungen
• Bildung telemedizinischer Netzwerkstrukturen
• Bildung von Zentren für seltene, komplexe oder schwerwiegende Erkrankungen
• Bildung regional begrenzter Krankenhausverbünde
• Bildung integrierter Notfallstrukturen
• Schließung eines Krankenhauses oder Teilen davon
• Schaffung zusätzlicher Ausbildungskapazitäten

It should be noted that the implementation of funded projects may not begin before July 1, 2025, which creates planning security for hospitals. The transformation fund therefore represents an important instrument for making the hospital infrastructure in Germany fit for the future and offers the federal states the opportunity to actively contribute to improving the healthcare system, while criticism of the previous financing strategy continues to exist, as well Federal Ministry of Health reported.