Money and savings: between Excel and practice

The budget remains the decisive topic of the year, although many participants in the debate already consider the "reserves" exhausted. The uncertainty around planned savings in the hundreds of millions of euros arose mainly from adjustments in pharmaceutical policy and changes in insurers' expected expenditures; less optimistic scenarios have lowered the original expectations. It was noted that private networks have for years pushed for central purchasing and efficiency, while state hospitals struggle with debt, an investment backlog, and costly equipment replacements. Tension is also increased by a paradox: doctors' base salaries have risen, but the state's contribution for state-insured persons lags behind, and without performance incentives, hospitals' output has been declining in the long term.