Market Access Strategy for Medical Devices in Europe
Strategic recommendations on the topic of market access pathways for medical devices and IVD tests
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The 2026 DRG (LKF) model was announced in Austria
On June 30, 2025, the document "Changes and innovations in the 2026 LKF model" (Änderungen und Neuerungen in den LKF-Modellen 2026) was published. The document summarizes the most significant changes and innovations in the LKF model for inpatient and outpatient care. The procedure codes expected to be introduced in 2026 mainly concern e-health, endoscopy, interventional radiology, orthopedics, pulmonology, and robotics fields.
For 2026, the main changes are planned to include the addition of 33 new procedure codes, the introduction of 19 procedure codes for billing in the day case settings, an update of cases flat rates, adjustments of the cases daily and procedural components calculation. No new DRGs are planned to be introduced. Also, two new provisional codes (NUB) are planned to be introduced.
A significant change compared to the previous LKF models is that the inpatient case flat rates for 2026 were calculated based on cases with two or more days of stay. Previously, day case stays were also included in the calculation, which were counted as one day of stay.
The 2026 model will enter into force on January 1, 2026.
Some examples of the introduced procedure codes are listed below:
- DE541 Telemedical monitoring of an implanted cardiological device (LE=per session);
- GF022 Thermal ablation of lung tumors/metastases (LE=per session);
- HZ033 Endoscopic mucosectomy of the lower GI tract (LE=per session);
- LD052 Osteosynthesis on the cervical spine using cage/plate systems (LE=per level);
- ZN412 Application of an endoluminal surgical robot (LE=per session).
Also, two new provisional codes (NUB) are planned to be introduced in relation to transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve replacement.
The full details in German can be found here.
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