So far, only geriatric nurses have received a grant for their dedicated work in times of Corona. Now nurses in hospitals are also to receive a special Covid-19 bonus. But not every employee benefits.
After much back and forth, there should now be a corona premium for nursing staff in hospitals. The umbrella association of statutory health insurances (GKV) and the German Hospital Association (DKG) agreed on a concept according to which up to 1000 euros should flow to "nursing staff who are particularly stressed by the care of Covid 19 patients", as both sides announced. A total of 100 million euros would be made available.
The money is supposed to come from the liquidity reserve of the health fund, which is mainly financed from contributions from those with statutory health insurance. A "separate participation" of the private health insurances is expected, declared GKV and DK. "The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds and DKG also appeal to the federal states to provide top-up funding to increase the premium by 500 euros."
Who exactly gets the bonus depends on several factors. According to the information, the money will initially be allocated to the hospitals that have a certain minimum number of Covid 19 cases by the end of September. The selection of the nursing staff and "the definition of the individual premium amount" is the responsibility of the respective hospital operator "in coordination with the employee representatives". In "justified exceptional cases", the bonus can also be paid to other employees, for example in the emergency room.
Up to 100,000 employees receive bonuses
"This concept paves the way for a recognition bonus to be paid to up to 100,000 employees, especially in the highly stressed care sector," explained DKG managing director Georg Baum. The premium should be made as a one-off special service free of tax and social security contributions, explained GKV board member Stefanie Stoff-Ahnis.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn from the CDU welcomed the agreement. "We will be happy to implement this proposal from the self-government," he said. "Many employees in many clinics in Germany have made a significant contribution to treating corona patients under difficult conditions in the best possible way. That was a particular stress." A corona premium for nursing staff was initially only agreed for care of the elderly. The fact that hospital employees were left out met with much criticism.
. (tagsToTranslate) Economy (t) Corona crisis (t) Coronavirus (t) Care system (t) Hospital