CDU in Osnabrück: Strong together for better healthcare!

CDU in Osnabrück: Strong together for better healthcare!

Health care in Germany is currently at a crossroads. Especially in cities like Osnabrück, solutions are urgently sought to address challenges such as hospital reform and the shortage of doctors. On September 19th, the CDU district council group and the CDU Osnabrück city council group met in Georgsmarienhütte for a joint group meeting that was all about cooperation. The aim was to develop common strategies in the area of ​​health care and to strengthen solidarity between the city and the district. Marius Keite, chairman of the CDU city council group, emphasized the importance of pragmatic solutions for better health for citizens and emphasized the need for a joint health working group. In the future, this will regularly discuss health policy issues and compare positions, as Hasepost reports.

During this meeting, the current reforms that are being introduced at the federal level were also discussed. The Bundestag, supported by the SPD, the Greens and the FDP, has decided on a hospital reform that is intended to reduce the number of clinics but increase the quality of care. This reform was initiated with the intention of maintaining a comprehensive network of good clinics. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach emphasizes that the hospital sector is in a crisis characterized by over-, under- and incorrect care. The reform stipulates, among other things, that 60% of the remuneration for clinics will in future be linked to certain service offerings. Critics warn that this could lead to bottlenecks, especially in rural areas. Nevertheless, many also express positive hopes for specialization and higher quality of treatment, as reported on Tagesspiegel.

Regional focus and challenges

In the context of these nationwide reforms, the situation in the Osnabrück region should not be underestimated. The city and the district have jointly founded the Osnabrück Medical School in order to promote the training of doctors in the region and to ensure long-term medical care. It becomes clear here that the country's healthcare system has a complex structure, which is made up of around 1,900 hospitals, over 160,000 outpatient doctors and more than 18,000 pharmacies, in a dual system with statutory and private health insurance, as Statista summarizes.

However, the statutory health insurance companies, which offer a high density of offers, are constantly facing new challenges: increasing health expenditure, which accounts for 13% of GDP, and demographic developments that mean more people in need of care and fewer people in employment. Many in healthcare policy are convinced that adaptability and reforms to increase efficiency are necessary to meet the demands of digital transformation.

Looking ahead

The CDU's approach in Osnabrück to work on common solutions in the health system could be a real step in the right direction. It is all the more important that these approaches are implemented not only in the city, but across the region and beyond. For the health of all citizens, it is essential that solutions are found that are sustainable in the long term in the interests of high-quality, comprehensive health care. Because one thing is clear: the problems in healthcare will not go away on their own, and the pressure to find solutions will only increase.