The coalition agreement of the three parties should be in place by the end of November, after which Olaf Scholz could be elected as the new Federal Chancellor.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin In the coalition negotiations in the field of health policy, the SPD is apparently pushing for the topics of digitization, health research and care to be given priority. The aim is to “work towards digitalization in the health sector making massive progress in this legislative period,” participants report to the Handelsblatt.
The potential, but also the need to catch up with digitization, is enormous. The focus is apparently on the apps on prescription, the electronic prescription and the electronic patient file – all projects that the Managing Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) has initiated and that are currently being rolled out.
The issue of digitization is the most important of three construction sites “that have to be manifested in the coalition agreement,” report participants in the working group, in which health experts Katja Pähle, Ronja Endres, Karl Lauterbach and Daniela Behrens take part for the SPD.
Second, health research needs to be expanded. The focus should not only be on how data improves the quality of care, but also on data protection. In the third focus – care – there is talk of better wages and a capped personal contribution.
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The points are not surprising in that they can be found in one way or another in the SPD election manifesto. However, they go far beyond the exploratory paper that the SPD, Greens and FDP jointly formulated. On the twelve pages, the traffic light parties dealt with the topic in just three paragraphs. There are no concrete digital projects in it – not even costly suggestions such as a capped personal contribution for people in need of care.
Reform of the hospital landscape
The exploratory paper is also the only basis of the coalition negotiations that has become public so far. The talks are conducted in the strictest of confidentiality. It is surprising that something gets outside at all. A focus in the negotiations is apparently also the role of the countries in the health care system, which many see as an obstacle in digitization and the hospital landscape.
The reform of hospital financing – the federal states have so far been responsible for the investments but have often neglected them in recent years – is also an issue in the negotiations. In addition, the proposal of regional supply networks could also be found in the coalition agreement, in which the largely separate outpatient and inpatient areas work more closely together.
Similar demands come from the Greens and the FDP. “Good model projects exist, but they are not available on the market,” they say. How the plans should be designed in detail is still open.
More: What the healthcare system will face after the election