Overview

• The Union–SPD coalition has decided to replace Bürgergeld with a new basic security system featuring tougher sanctions, including 30% benefit cuts and potential full payment stoppage for repeated non‑compliance, with legislation targeted for spring 2026.
• Nina Warken’s draft package seeks roughly €1.8–2.0 billion in 2026 health‑system savings by capping hospital budget growth, halving the Innovationsfonds to save about €100 million, and limiting insurers’ administrative costs by another €100 million.
• Media reports detail an option to raise patient co‑payments by about 50%—for example, prescription charges from €5 to €7.50 and €10 to €15 and hospital daily fees from €10 to €15—aiming to yield about €1.855 billion, though no final decision has been made.
• Statutory insurers welcomed concrete steps to stabilize finances, while hospital groups protested the planned rollback of full inflation compensation and Green health experts criticized the measures as short‑term fixes.
• Pushback is intensifying as the DGB warns of possible strikes, The Left urges much higher contributions from top earners, and economists and legal experts question both the projected savings and the constitutionality of full sanctions; the Schätzerkreis financing estimate is due mid‑week.