Some hospitals in Germany were already in financial difficulties before the corona pandemic. In the crisis, the situation has now become even worse for some, as hospitals are required to keep beds free for Covid-19 patients and are therefore unable to bill them. The Baden-Wuerttembergische Krankenhausgesellschaft (BWKG) is now drawing attention to this grievance because clinics and hospitals have had to postpone about 1,000 operations and procedures in the last four weeks. According to the BWKG, this situation is plunging some hospitals into a deep crisis, as research by the BWKG shows that 40 percent of the hospitals have slipped into the red and cannot pay current invoices because they lack liquidity. Invoices for the maintenance of operations are part of this, but also salaries and Christmas bonuses. The federal government paid a so-called freehold lump sum in the spring of this year, but is unwilling to make further compensatory payments this year. However, there is still a glimmer of hope for 2021. Either, according to a spokeswoman for the Swabian hospital association, institutions would have to take out loans or the owners of the hospitals would have to step in. These are municipalities and churches, and in the case of the university clinics, the state.
