Overview
- The Merz government’s adjustment bill to the Lauterbach-era hospital overhaul is moving through parliament after being introduced last fall.
- RWI estimates about €64 billion in required investments with €50 billion from a Transformationsfonds if funds stay purpose‑bound, warning diluted standards could forfeit savings of up to €9 billion per year.
- Researchers criticize planned state exemption powers, cooperation-based fulfillment of criteria, and the multiple counting of specialists, arguing these would blunt specialization and lock in costly structures.
- Karl Lauterbach and health insurers’ representatives caution that weakening nationwide quality rules could jeopardize patient safety and waste contributor funds.
- Health Minister Nina Warken says the core aims remain while the package makes implementation more practical, as Bavaria presses for up to six-year exceptions, accuses the SPD caucus of delays, and reports broad clinic applications for service-group assignments.