Overview
- DKG’s Krankenhaus-Barometer 2025 reports that 66% of hospitals posted losses in 2024, five percentage points more than in 2023, with only 34% breaking even or better.
- For 2025, 70% of hospitals expect to end the year in deficit, while 30% foresee a surplus or a balanced result.
- The 2026 outlook remains bleak, with just 13% expecting improvement, 44% anticipating deterioration and 43% seeing no change.
- DKG president Gerald Gaß describes the situation as the worst since the DRG case-based system began, warning that investment is constrained and that wait lists could become routine.
- Consultancy Roland Berger expects more mergers and closures with fewer sites and expanded outpatient care, and Gaß has floated higher inpatient co-pays and emergency department fees as possible relief measures.