German Health Minister Under Fire

The German Health Minister, Horst Seehofer, has come under fire from the national hospitals association for claiming that hospitals are the main source of rising health care costs. Mr Seehofer has spoken of possible savings in the sector of 5-6 billion Deutschemarks ($3.74-$4.25 billion), but the association says it is disappointed with his attitude.

Despite considerable expansion of hospital services, their share of total health fund spending has remained stable, falling from 32.5% to 31.9% last year in western Germany and from 31.6% to 31.4% in the eastern states, it says. In first-half 1995, hospital treatment spending rose at a below-average rate of 6.1% in western germany and 11.3% in the east.

The association also notes that since 1993, the average length of stay in hospital has fallen by 7.8%, while 93 hospitals have closed and beds have been cut by 57,000 in the period between 1990 and 1993.