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The Federal Cabinet approves adjustments to the hospital reform in Germany
On October 8, 2025, the Federal Cabinet approved the draft of a law to adapt the hospital reform. The fundamental objectives of hospital reform remain preserved. Nevertheless, to ensure comprehensive healthcare coverage, additional exemptions and opportunities for cooperation will be introduced for hospitals, allowing the federal states greater flexibility in hospital planning.
The most important changes include the following:
- Hospital treatment services, for which quality criteria are defined as minimum requirements for structural and process quality, will be divided into 61 service groups (instead of the originally planned 65);
- The share of the Hospital Transformation Fund, amounting to up to €25 billion over 10 years (up to €2.5 billion per year), that was previously to be financed from sickness funds will now be funded through the Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality, i.e., from federal resources. For the first four years, the federal government will additionally contribute €1 billion per year to ease the financial burden on the federal states. In the future, university hospitals will also be eligible for funding from the Hospital Transformation Fund, but exclusively for hospital-related structural measures;
- The introduction of the upfront payment (reserve financing) will be postponed by one year. The surcharges and funding amounts introduced as part of the hospital reform will likewise take effect one year later. The current surcharges for pediatrics and obstetrics will therefore be extended by one year.
The full details in German can be found here.
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