BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - With a view to the controversial hospital reform, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has denied media reports on the closure of almost every second clinic. "No, that's not true," Lauterbach said Wednesday on ARD's "Morgenmagazin." "We have moved forward with the reform. And the reform allows many hospitals that were otherwise pushed out of business (...) to still survive."

They would then have to provide slightly more outpatient services, "but they survive where they are needed," the SPD politician stressed. The "picture" newspaper had reported on Tuesday evening, by the planned reform in some Lands of the Federal Republic each second hospital would be abolished. Shortly thereafter, Lauterbach had already reacted to the report in a tweet, calling it a "false report."

The hospital reform is intended to reorganize the financing and structure of hospitals in Germany and at the same time improve quality. Among other things, greater specialization of hospitals is planned. In essence, the remuneration system with flat rates for treatment cases is to be changed in order to relieve clinics of economic pressure. The plan is to divide the clinic network into three levels of care - from basic care close to home, through a second level with additional services, to maximum care providers such as university clinics.

With regard to the planned care reform with improvements for family caregivers, the health minister rejected criticism from the opposition that it was only a small reform: "This is no small reform. We are spending almost 7 billion more per year. That's an increase of about 12 percent." On Tuesday, there were more reworkings announced. Accordingly, a flexibly usable budget with relief benefits for family caregivers is to come. In return, a planned later increase in care benefits is expected to be somewhat smaller. The CDU/CSU had accused the coalition of taking away the additional money for the relief budget from care benefits for those in need of care. The law is to be passed in the Bundestag on Friday./sza/DP/mis