BHK e. V. demands reforms for pediatric intensive care financing

The Federal Association for Home Pediatric Intensive Care (BHK e. V.) is calling for improvements to the Nursing Reorganization Act (PNOG) to address financing issues in out-of-hospital pediatric intensive care. During a parliamentary breakfast at the German Bundestag, the association met with political representatives to discuss how current legal frameworks impact the care of severely ill children and adolescents.

The BHK has presented three primary demands: preventing further reductions in the change rate for this care sector, ensuring equal refinancing for both tariff-based and rÜE-paying service providers, and ensuring that actual necessary costs are fully refinanced.

Corinne Ruser, Managing Director of the BHK, noted that out-of-hospital pediatric intensive care is highly labor-intensive. She highlighted that the sector faces rising personnel and operating costs alongside a shortage of nursing specialists, even as the requirements for high-quality, reliable, 24-hour care continue to increase.