Lengthy Arbitration and Court Proceedings Appear Inevitable

Continued Subsidy for Research and Teaching at the Expense of Medical Care

Bad Neustadt, 15th December 2016

It appears following the latest meeting with representatives of the Universities and the Federal State Government of Hesse that it will not be possible to come to an agreement regarding separate accounting for the University Hospitals in Giessen and Marburg. It therefore seems to RHÖN KLINIKUM AG as if lengthy arbitration and court proceedings will be inevitable.

“The latest agreement with the Universities was in 2008/2009. Since then all our efforts to come to an agreement with the Universities and the Federal State of Hesse regarding appropriate financing of state tasks have remained fruitless,” Dr. Martin Siebert, CEO of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG, stated. This not only leads to RHÖN-KLINIKUM’s receivables vis-à-vis the Universities and the Federal State of Hesse increasing every year due to growing material and personnel costs. It also means that there is no regulation for the future either: the foreseeable higher costs for research and teaching cannot be financed in the long-term on the basis of an out-of-date agreement. There is already an annual total deficit of roughly € 25 million currently being borne by UKGM GmbH.

“Having evaluated the negotiations we have reached a point where we can no longer accept a fact confirmed by external expert opinions: that we help to finance research and teaching with funds designated for medical care, ultimately to the detriment of patients. While the University hospital in Frankfurt/Main which is fully owned by the Federal State of Hesse is granted umpteen millions of Euros every year, our negotiations with the Federal State of Hesse and the universities have come to a standstill,” Dr. Siebert added.

“We are convinced that we will be able to assert our justified claims in the forthcoming arbitration and court proceedings,” Dr. Siebert continued. However, future investments which are necessary both at Giessen and Marburg are put at extreme risk by the looming stalemate.

“Nevertheless we do not wish to break off negotiations but prefer a constructive out-of-court solution rather than a lengthy legal dispute.” Our core aim remains the best possible medical care for patients at both University Hospitals as well as maintaining and enhancing both sites in the long-term and thus also safeguarding the roughly 10,000 jobs. We also wish to preserve Giessen and Marburg as research centres in the centre of Germany with a significant future potential and high performance capability.

For a Better Understanding of the Subject Matter:

In 2006 RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG took over 95 % of the shares in the University Hospitals in Giessen and Marburg which were merged into UKGM GmbH. UKGM has since undertaken extensive tasks in research and teaching and has received the same payment from both Universities since 2008 and 2009 which does not take account of personnel and material costs which have been increasing since this time.