Overview

• Health Minister Nina Warken secured state backing on July 3 to delay the assignment of Leistungsgruppen beyond the original end-2026 deadline to make implementation more practical
• The federal government will provide €4 billion from its infrastructure special fund for immediate transformation costs and assume the health insurers’ share of the Transformation Fund
• States won clearer criteria for Fachkrankenhäuser and expanded exemptions for rural and cooperative clinics to address regional financial pressures
• Warken emphasized that core reform goals—shifting to service-group reimbursements, enforcing specialization and maintaining quality standards—will remain unchanged
• A draft amendment is slated for cabinet review in September with the aim of completing parliamentary approval by the end of 2025