500 million fund for converting clinics into old people's homes

According to Spahn, the money pot is to be fed from funds from the health fund, i.e. essentially from contributions. It is supposed to co-finance conversion projects in which counties or municipalities also participate with up to 50 percent. Mergers of several hospitals could possibly also be co-financed, it was said from the negotiating circles.

According to reports, the CSU enforced that the planning sovereignty of the states in the clinics was not interfered with. Bavaria's Health Minister Melanie Huml (CSU) said of the plans: “It's like an economic stimulus program.”

Today there is usually massive resistance and protests on site when clinics close. Spahn said it was now important to give new perspectives on site, also with regard to jobs. 27 percent of around.

Second opinion should be accelerated Against the ever increasing number of operations, patients should be increasingly advised of the possibility of obtaining second opinions. If medically possible, ten-day period should be introduced between the initiation and implementation of an operation. During this time, the patient should be able to obtain second doctor's opinion himself. The procedure should be limited to certain operations. The health insurers should have to pay for it, said Lauterbach.

Union and SPD expect improvements in nursing through the fact that hospitals should prove in future that they have actually provided paid care services.

The Kassen responded positively to the restructuring plans. "We consider financial incentives to better align the clinic offer to the needs of patients to be sensible," said her association spokesman Florian Lanz. However, it does not need any new contribution money. The managing director of the German Hospital Society, Georg Baum, however, said that cost-covering clinic financing would be better.