Overview
- Lawmakers from the CDU–SPD coalition approved the Hospital Reform Adjustment Act, revising the 2024 overhaul to make implementation more flexible for Länder and providers.
- The federal government pledges up to €29 billion over ten years to support restructuring, increasing the transformation funding available to states.
- States gain broader latitude to grant time‑limited exceptions for service groups, with approvals renewable twice for three years each, and the catalogue is trimmed from 65 to 61 Leistungsgruppen.
- Key payment changes are pushed back, with the new readiness funding (Vorhaltevergütung) scheduled to be fully effective in 2030 and other remuneration shifts delayed by a year.
- Reactions split the sector: health insurers call the compromise workable, while Greens, patient advocates and some associations argue it dilutes specialization and could raise costs; the bill now awaits Bundesrat consideration later in March.