Rhineland-Palatinate plans to convert hospitals into regional clinics by 2027

The hospital landscape in Rhineland-Palatinate is changing - but the core remains intact: According to current plans, the hospitals in Bingen, Kirn and Hermeskeil will become regional clinics at the beginning of the new year. These are cross-sector care facilities at the interface between inpatient and outpatient treatment, without specific service groups.

Other regional clinics are to follow. They play an important role, particularly in providing care for everyday emergencies close to home, said Health Minister Clemens Hoch (SPD) to the German Press Agency in Mainz.

Where are more regional clinics being built?

The ministry wants to send the notices for regional clinics and benefit notices to other locations in October. According to the ministry, the hearing procedures were completed without any major protests.

Whether a location becomes a regional clinic is fundamentally a decision of the respective provider. Minister Hoch recently spoke of at least seven possible regional clinics.

In Frankenthal and Bad Dürkheim, discussions with the providers about the development of regional clinics are continuing, said ministry spokesman David Freichel. In Bad Dürkheim it also remains to be seen how a possible new hospital building in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse could affect medical care in the region.

Are there new specialty clinics?

In recent years, many specializations and focal points have already emerged, said ministry spokesman Freichel. The assignment of the so-called service groups reflects the overall care structure and the existing priorities. Service groups determine which clinic can offer which treatment under which quality conditions.

“Complex and specialized services should be provided where the necessary specialists, the appropriate equipment and sufficient experience are available,” said Hoch.

How many performance groups are approved?

The hearing on this has not yet been completed, for example on the topic of care for stroke patients. The ministry had 1,285 reports from the medical service on the service groups applied for by the clinics; 1,065 were planned in the first step.

The entire process will be completed this year, said Freichel. The new service group assignments would take effect together with the new hospital plan on January 1, 2027.

What does the minister announce?

Hoch emphasized: “Our goal is to provide hospital care that continues to combine quality, patient safety and easy accessibility in the future.” It's not about individual locations, but about the entire country. The regional clinic type is helpful.

What does the hospital association say?

It is completely unclear whether the hospitals will still be able to offer their services in full in the future, said the managing director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Hospital Association, Andreas Wermter, with a view to the cuts planned by the federal government in the Statutory Health Insurance Contribution Rate Stabilization Act. He fears that the ministry's plans could be thwarted by these cuts.

“Hospital planning can organize structures, but it does not solve the economic problems of hospitals.” Tariff increases, material cost developments and further cost increases would have to be permanently refinanced.

But Wermter also sees the country as having a duty. This must set up a special fund with a volume of at least 150 million euros for the hospitals.