Overview
- Germany’s upper house referred the savings package, tied to the Pflegekompetenzgesetz, to the mediation committee, halting immediate implementation.
- The plan sought about €1.8 billion in 2026 savings largely by suspending the Meistbegünstigungsklausel and capping hospital payment growth to actual costs.
- Insurer groups warn of acute budgeting uncertainty for 2026, with GKV and AOK citing likely hikes in Zusatzbeiträge for roughly 75 million insured.
- TK chief Jens Baas expects many increases next year and says the average Zusatzbeitrag will effectively exceed 3%, warning a late compromise may come too late for kassen budgets.
- Health Minister Nina Warken called the move a bad signal, while Länder ministers argued the cuts would weaken clinic finances, and no date is set for the mediation talks.