The university hospitals in Halle and Magdeburg are preparing for additional costs in 2023 due to the need for new energy contracts. The two clinics confirmed this at the request of the German Press Agency. “The University Hospital Halle expects a cost increase of about 130 percent in terms of energy prices – depending on the market situation,” said a spokeswoman.
The heat supply contracts at the two university hospitals expire at the end of the year. “In some cases, new contracts have already been concluded,” said the spokeswoman for the Halle University Hospital. It is similar in Magdeburg. There, nine million euros were planned for electricity and gas this year. For 2023, however, no information can currently be given about the additional costs, said a spokesman.
Due to the increased prices, it is usually significantly more expensive when concluding new contracts. That is why the two hospitals are also looking for savings. For example, the University Hospital in Halle is currently examining the extent to which the room temperature can be reduced to 19 degrees in areas that are not part of patient care.
Already at the beginning of September, the hospitals in Saxony-Anhalt had asked for financial help in view of the increased prices. The additional costs could not be passed on, said Wolfgang Schütte, chairman of the hospital association in Saxony-Anhalt.
The reimbursements of the health insurance companies, which finance the operation of the hospitals, are strictly limited by the legislature. According to Schütte, there is no way for the hospitals to fully refinance the actual price increases. The hospital company therefore demanded a subsequent surcharge of four percent on all bills with the health insurance companies for the year 2022.
