Hospital.Help

Berlin Hopes for continued funding of the Public Health Service Pact (GD) by the federal government beyond 2026 have been dampened by politicians in view of the strained budget situation.

Our wish is actually to continue the pact,” said Ute Teichert, head of the public health department of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG), today at a conference of the Federal Medical Association (BK) in Berlin. She emphasized the great relevance of the GD.

But as is well known, there are currently financial constraints that make it difficult to move the issue forward, said Teichert. Solutions must be sought. Teichert moved to the ministry at the beginning of 2022 and was previously chairwoman of the Federal Association of Doctors in the Public Health Service (BVGD) for a long time.

Teichert described the current situation as challenging: After the corona pandemic, we are virtually in a war environment, which is crucial for the budget situation. Public health is also needed for crisis prevention. In this respect, a strong GD is necessary.

Teichert sees community task

All actors must get on board, appealed Teichert. She spoke of a joint project. We must see that we find a way to continue this project together. Otherwise, the GD is in danger of taking a step backwards, as it has done before in its history. I believe that none of us can afford that, and we do not want to.

The potential future challenges for the health care system cannot be met in the outpatient and inpatient sectors alone, Teichert continued. The federal government, states, municipalities and other areas concerned with the issue must commit to a population medicine perspective.

Johannes Wagner, a member of the Green Party’s Bundestag and a member of the Health Committee, also painted a gloomy picture of the budget situation at the event. In a panel discussion, when asked how he assessed the chances of an extension of the pact in this legislative period, he replied: “Limitable.” He said that extreme budget cuts were imminent.

Wagner spoke of the responsibility of the federal states. In the current situation, the Ministry of Finance is not very open to taking on costs that are not actually the federal government’s original responsibility. Nevertheless, he hopes that the momentum will continue and that the states will take on the task and that the GD will not disappear from the list of priorities.

The President of the German Association of Districts, Reinhard Sager, criticized, among other things, that the local governments had to pay the price for what the federal and state governments had pushed through and not secured. The GD pact had always been supported and the corresponding financing had been made a condition. If the talks between the federal and state governments had failed, the states would be the contact persons for the local governments. The states would have to take responsibility if they agreed on something with the federal government but did not receive the financing.

The future of the Pact for the GD is also on the agenda of the Conference of Health Ministers of the States (GMK), which is taking place today and tomorrow in Lübeck-Travemünde. The German Medical Journal reported.

BK President: Office management to be left in medical hands

BK President Klaus Reinhardt called for a strengthening of the GD, which is clearly the third pillar of the medical care system. He referred to future crises, the worsening of social inequality and climate change. The tasks of the approximately 380 health authorities in this country are extensive.

Medical expertise is particularly required from management. In our view, management activities must remain in the hands of doctors, said Reinhardt. At the 128th German Medical Congress in Mainz, the medical profession also spoke out against any relaxation of this requirement.

The federal and state governments agreed on the pact at the end of September 2020 in view of the corona pandemic. The goals included more staff for the GD and modernization. The federal government is providing a total of four billion euros for implementation for the period from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2026.

As early as spring 2023, the Bundestag’s Budget Committee had called for the federal government’s financial participation not to be extended beyond 2026. From the committee’s point of view, it was important to promote the development of the GD, but responsibility must now be transferred to the states and municipalities.

The Federal Audit Office (BRH) also viewed the continued support critically. It must be linked to precise goals and reliable instruments for monitoring the achievement of goals.

Representatives of the BVGD recently renewed their call for a continuation of the pact, citing increasing tasks as the reason for this. In addition, the relatively newly created positions were in danger of being cut again without any long-term funding perspective. © ggr/aerzteblatt.de