German finance ministry tightens grip on healthcare spending

London, UK, 27 July 2011 — Proceur Ltd continues to note increasing austerity measures impacting the ability to deliver sustainable healthcare services across the European Union.The German Finance Ministry has structurally increased its scrutiny of the Health Ministry’s legislative proposals, according to today’s Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

Although the German health system is financed separately to central government, the Finance Ministry’s “massive interest in… spending by the statutory insurers is new”, according to analysis in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, adding the situation is “most likely a blueprint for future clashes between the finance and health ministries… with health policy now part of budgetary planning."

This situation increases the need for better management of the healthcare supply chain, creating the basis for rational pricing of goods and services, and ensuring fair reimbursement for all actors in the healthcare system.Proceur Ltd is helping healthcare services organisations meet these challenges by helping them understand their procurement needs, consolidate spending and improving efficiency and margins in the face of top-line pressures.

Managing healthcare spend will continue to be a key lever for EU governments to meet their fiscal objectives.Further recessionary risks have been increasing across the EU – raising the risk of additional pressure on healthcare budgets over the next 2-3 years.

Proceur Ltd helps independent healthcare services providers create scale through our buying network.We help healthcare systems achieve best value-for-money, allowing the basis for rational pricing discussions and creating additional savings for reinvestment in service expansion.

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About Proceur Ltd

Proceur brings European healthcare buyers and suppliers closer together.We help healthcare services organisations better manage their procurement expenditure by reducing complexity and cost, allowing savings to be reinvested in service expansion.For suppliers, the European customer base remains highly fragmented – with over 50,000 healthcare locations across 27 countries.Proceur rationalises market access costs through our proprietary buying network.The company was founded in 2011 by Martin Whitbread, an expert in healthcare services with over a decade in the industry as an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.For more information, visit www.proceur.com.

For further information please contact:

Proceur Ltd 
Martin Whitbread, Chief Executive Officer+44 20 72 22 22 90 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.