Home » Business » Germany pays bill of millions for IC care Dutch corona patients | NOW

Germany pays bill of millions for IC care Dutch corona patients | NOW

Germany will definitively cover the costs for corona patients from the Netherlands and other EU Member States who have been treated in Germany, spokespersons from the German and Dutch Ministries of Health say in conversation with NU.nl.

During the corona pandemic, Germany took over the care of 58 COVID-19 patients for months, because intensive care units in the Netherlands were at risk of becoming overcrowded. The majority of Dutch patients (48) were received in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which borders the Netherlands.

The last Dutch patient to be treated in Germany died in a German hospital in early June.

Germany was able to offer the help because it has one of the largest numbers of beds in intensive-care units in Europe. In total there would be more than thirty thousand beds. In addition, the country quickly got the virus outbreak under control.

Germany also wants to pay IC care for French, Italian, Spanish and Belgian patients

In mid-April, the German Health Minister Jens Spahn already indicated that his country also wanted to pay for the healthcare costs. Germany also received Italian, French, Spanish and Belgian patients, and estimated that a total of about 20 million euros in care was provided to foreign patients.

However, a formal offer for cost recovery was not forthcoming for months, but has recently been sent to the EU Member States. There had to be a response before September, but the Netherlands has already officially accepted that offer. It is not yet clear whether other countries have responded yet.

According to spokesman Sebastian Gülde of the German ministry, all other countries have transferred more patients than the Netherlands to Germany. However, this does not mean that the smallest percentage of the estimated 20 million euros was spent on Dutch patients, given that it is not clear how long patients from countries have spent jointly on German ICs.

Minister Jens Spahn calls the allowance an example of solidarity. “Europe stands together, even in times of crisis,” he said earlier. Former Minister for Medical Care and Sport, Martin van Rijn, already expressed his gratitude for German solidarity in mid-June.

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.