Health Minister Agnès Buzyn wants to support hospitals in difficulty. His gesture will help hospitals and clinics to make up for their significant deficit, but is also part of the Priorité Prévention plan.
Agnès Buzyn, Minister of Health and Solidarity, announced on Wednesday that 300 million euros will be donated to health establishments to help reduce their deficit. But this sum does not come out of nowhere: it comes from the fact that the expenses of health facilities (public and private) grew less than expected last year. The amount saved – therefore 300 million – will then be donated in full to hospitals. It was the ministry that announced it on March 13 in a press release : “Agnès Buzyn has decided to pay these funds to support the establishments and thus contribute to reducing their deficit”.
Reduce the overall deficit of establishments
However, this budget will not be distributed haphazardly. Of the 300 million euros in total, 235 million will compensate for “an evolution in hospital activity that is weaker than expected”, explains the minister. The remaining 65 million will be used to “support health establishments in difficulty” but not only. They will finance priority measures, such as “the intensification of prevention and screening actions to combat hepatitis C”, which is a flagship measure of the Priority Prevention plan. They will also be used to generalize the VigilanS device, “intended for the prevention of suicidal recurrence or suicide”, explains the ministry.
Aid in addition to the 450 million in 2018
This budgetary aid comes on top of the €415 million thaw announced at the start of 2018 to curb the lack of hospital resources. In addition, Agnès Buzyn announced at the end of February a 0.5% increase in hospital prices for 2019. After eight years of decline, this is a historic gesture. This should generate “an additional 250 million euros”, according to the minister.
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