Shortage of medicines: the health system needs an all-round cure | tagesschau.de

A lot has been tampered with in the health system – but all the political therapies have been of little use: the clinics are overloaded and there is a lack of medication. Now a systemic all-round cure is needed.

Our health system shows serious weaknesses. Government after government has only tinkered with the problems, making them worse. Now it’s time for an all-round cure.

Years ago, the diagnosis was: Our healthcare system is too expensive. The therapy: A bit of price pressure could do you good. Years later, nothing has changed that in Europe we spend the most on health.

More and more symptoms

But because savings were made in the wrong places, there are even more “symptoms of illness”: clinics are overburdened, there is a shortage of doctors and nursing staff, important medicines are not available.

The insight in politics comes late, but at least: the “therapy” of saving has failed. Now the Federal Minister of Health is trying the opposite: more money for hospitals, more money for nursing staff, more money for medicines. In the short term, there are good incentives to encourage manufacturers to sell more children’s medicines to Germany. However, as a professor of health economics, Lauterbach should know that this would be an expensive long-term therapy.

Systemic solution is needed

Instead, all the money in the system has to be redistributed. It is by no means the case that Germany spends too little: recently, health insurance companies paid more than 46 billion euros a year for medicines. Expenditure is even increasing, especially for patent-protected drugs.

On the other hand, the price pressure for off-patent medicines such as fever syrup or antibiotics is unhealthy. Politicians had decreed that only the cheapest products should be bought. And the market has not shrunk to health, it has shrunk ill.

It is no longer worthwhile for manufacturers to produce in Europe or sell to Germany. If only one or two producers can then supply an important cancer drug, it is life-threatening. Now it would be wrong to fight another symptom with radical therapy. A systemic solution is needed.

Lengthy healing process

Lauterbach’s proposals include approaches to this: the obligation to purchase medicines not only from the cheapest provider in the world, but also from Europe; the plan to keep an eye on supplies and shortages. That’s right, but it will require clear rules and regular political visits to see if the situation is improving or if new funds are needed.

Moving drug production back to Europe will take years. The healing process in hospitals and nursing homes is just as lengthy. For all of this, the healthcare system will need more than just money. At least it now has the attention it deserves as a “difficult patient”.