Many Belgian hospitals are sufferings from around half a billion euros in extra costs due to the increased energy prices, according to calculations by Care umbrella organisation Zorgnet-Icuro and reported on by De Morgen.
The rising energy prices are not, however, the only cause for the extra costs. The direct funding of hospitals through the Federal Public Service (FPS) is not increasing proportionally. While staff costs have risen by 10.4% since September, income from remittances - the part of their fee that doctors pay to the hospital - has only risen by 3 per cent.
Recently, the maximum rates of the fee supplements have also been frozen. Hospitals can charge these costs if someone opts for a single room. "Hospitals cannot legally pass on these increased costs," says Margot Cloet of Zorgnet-Icuro. "And of course that's not desirable either."
Similar concerns are found in Flemish residential care centres regarding what the resident pays daily for housing, life and care, where the share of energy costs has increased from around €3 to €7.5 per resident per day, in less than a year .
Subsequently, on their website Zorgnet-Icuro demands that "all governments in this country pay attention to the financial viability of healthcare organisations, so that they can keep their heads above water in this crisis and continue to provide people with quality care."
