Not to be outdone, a hospital spokesman who had been on the receiving end of criticism laid into the statutory health insurers for squeezing hospitals to the detriment of their professional staff and services. No wonder that ever fewer young people were studying medicine: Their numbers halved from 12,000 in 1997 to 6,800 in 2003, and 6300 of the latter group migrated overseas for work because of low salaries in Germany.
被指責的醫院代表也不甘示弱，挺身控訴大眾保險公司剝削、壓榨他們的專業和勞力，難怪唸醫的人愈來愈少，1997 年醫科學生人數將近 1 萬 2000 人，2003 年降到 6,800 人，少了一半，還有將近 6,300 位德國醫生因低薪而出走、遠赴國外工作。