Overview

• The Federal Ministry of Health has circulated a draft amendment for consultation with federal states and stakeholders to fine-tune the hospital reform.
• Quality and concentration goals for complex procedures will remain intact while states receive greater flexibility on local implementation.
• Staffing exception periods can be extended from one three-year term to two consecutive terms and rural hospitals will keep indefinite waivers.
• Key deadlines have been pushed back, giving clinics an extra year to introduce the Vorhaltevergütung and states more time to assess the reform’s effects.
• A €6.5 billion special fund—€4 billion upfront and €2.5 billion annually—will back the reform’s transition alongside the new Leistungsgruppen financing model.