Germany

The Federal Ministry of Health summarized multiple changes in the healthcare system that will be introduced in 2025. The most important ones relate to the further steps in digitalizing healthcare and hospital reform.

On January 1, 2025, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the first quarter of 2025 came into force. The main changes introduced concern updates of the contents (services legends, preambles of several EBM subchapters), the introduction of new EBM codes related to dialysis services, CT coronary angiography, management of long COVID patients, different types of consultations and visits, and material costs flat rates related to shipping services.

On December 19, 2024, the Hybrid DRG reimbursement agreement for 2025 was published. It determines which interventions will be reimbursed via a hybrid DRG mechanism and the associated tariffs. The newly introduced DRGs mainly belong to the endoscopy, gastrointestinal, and men’s health fields.

In late November 2024, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) published the decisions recommending the transfer to standard care for two completed projects. The projects were dedicated to relieving the burden of emergency rooms and improving infection surveillance in nursing homes.

In late November – early December 2024, the application period for 2026 ICD-10-GM (German modification of ICD-10 diagnosis codes), OPS (procedure codes), and DRG changes was opened by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and the Institute for Hospital Remuneration Systems (INeK), respectively.

On November 21, 2024, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) announced that a total of fifty applications for Innovation Funding for the new forms of care in one- and two-stage procedures were accepted.

On October 24, 2024, the BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) published the final version of the 2025 OPS procedure coding classification. The OPS, together with the ICD-10-GM (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th revision, German Modification), forms the basis for the reimbursement systems in outpatient and inpatient care in Germany. Multiple new procedure codes were introduced in several fields, including cardiovascular, endoscopic, peripheral vascular, and robotic surgery.

On October 14, 2024, the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) published the DRG catalog (Fallpauschalen-Katalog) with the list of DRGs and additional reimbursement categories (ZEs) for 2025. Three new DRGs were introduced in the endoscopy and ophthalmology fields.

On October 1, 2024, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the fourth quarter of 2024 was published. The changes introduced mainly concerned updates of the contents (services legends, preambles of the several EBM subchapters). The newly introduced EBM codes relate to the co-funded study on cold plasma treatment for chronic wounds.

On September 16, 2024, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) and the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband) announced that they had reached an agreement in financing negotiations concerning outpatient care.

On September 2, 2024, the Institute for Hospital Remuneration Systems (INeK) announced the start of the application process according to §6 (2) KHEntgG (New Examination and Treatment Methods, NUB) for 2025.

In mid-August 2024, the Innovation Committee at the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) published the decisions recommending the transfer to standard care for another four completed projects. The projects were dedicated to the topics of support for families with a parent suffering from cancer, modeling routine risk screening in children, reducing problematic media use, promoting treatment motivation in people with computer game addiction and Internet addiction, and follow-up care for gestational diabetes.