Lamine Gharbi, president of the Federation of Private Hospitalization, which includes 1,030 private, for-profit clinics and hospitals, is concerned about an unprecedented deficit that is also affecting his sector. due to inflation. He calls on the state to compensate for these costs and regrets this “Treatment dichotomy” with the public sector, which he considers unjustified.
You have been warning about the poor financial situation of the clinics for several months, what is the situation?
In 2023, 40% of our private clinics and hospitals will have a deficit of €670 million, compared to 25% in previous years. That is unknown. If nothing changes, this will be the case for half of our 1,030 companies this year, which corresponds to a budget of 19 billion. The effects are already there. Surgery manages to remain in balance, but there is everything else: closures or limitations of activities in emergencies, in obstetrics, in medical care and rehabilitation, the blocking of any expansion in psychiatry…
We have been waiting for a response from the state for months. We demand at least that this “offset” the inflation of 2023, which is the cause of our difficulties. With the Association of Public Hospitals [la Fédération hospitalière de France]We have estimated the necessary volume at 1.5 billion euros. The Ministry of Health has just announced aid worth 500 million euros, which can only be a first step because it is well below what is needed.
Unlike the public sector, your volume of activity in 2023 is larger than expected. Have your resources not increased?
We have 400 million euros “over-execution” budget [par rapport à ce qui était prévu dans l’objectif national de dépenses d’assurance-maladie]. We cared for patients who needed it, patients that the public couldn’t care for, we played our complementary role. But we are punished: because of inflation, the prices for this activity are [que verse l’Etat aux établissements pour chaque groupe de patients et de séjours, dans le cadre de la tarification à l’activité qui représente 90 % des revenus du privé à but lucratif] absolutely do not cover our costs. So the more we work, the more money we lose, which is an unacceptable scissor effect! We urgently request a price promotion [la fixation des tarifs pour l’année 2024 par l’Etat, qui est décidée en mars] correspond to the actual costs of our operations.
You still have 47.88% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
