BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - A solution has been found in the dispute over more transparency for patients and the financial stabilization of hospitals. The mediation committee of the Bundestag and Bundesrat decided that a law that had been stopped for the time being should be added, as the co-chairwoman, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Minister President Manuela Schwesig (SPD), announced in Berlin on Wednesday evening. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said: "There is more money for the clinics and a better overview of the quality of the hospitals." This could avert a wave of insolvencies. He held out the prospect of a "transformation fund" worth billions for a planned major reform of hospitals.

In November, the Bundesrat had blocked a transparency law for hospitals passed by the Bundestag. The Mediation Committee has now voted by a majority to adopt it. Lauterbach said that nothing stood in the way of a Bundesrat resolution. Schwesig said that it could be expected to be approved.

Specifically, it is about an online atlas of the range of services and quality of treatment at 1,700 hospital locations across Germany. "Patients will finally find out where they are best treated," said Lauterbach. The portal will also provide access to data on case numbers, i.e. treatment experience, staffing ratios for doctors and nurses as well as complication rates for selected procedures. Lauterbach said that the launch is still planned for May 1.

The law also includes regulations on additional liquidity in the billions for hospitals this year. It is intended to accompany a major reform with new regulations on hospital remuneration, which the federal and state governments have been negotiating for months. Lauterbach also said that the federal government was keeping its word to the federal states in the Bundesrat regarding general funding. Among other things, wage increases for all employees should be better reflected in the reimbursement of operating costs.

The hospitals should also receive a "transformation fund" with a view to a planned major hospital reform, for which 50 billion euros are planned for ten years from 2025. The sum should be shared equally between the federal and state governments, said Lauterbach.

The major hospital reform aims to change the remuneration system with flat rates for treatment cases in order to relieve clinics of financial pressure to treat more and more cases. In future, they are to receive 60 percent of the remuneration for the provision of services alone. The basis for financing by the health insurance funds should also be more precisely defined service groups. They should also ensure uniform quality standards. Lauterbach said that the plan to bring the draft bill to the Federal Cabinet at the end of April remains unchanged./sam/ram/DP/zb