Overview
- The cabinet, which approved the draft on Tuesday, April 28, advanced a law meant to steady statutory health-insurance contribution rates for only a few years.
- The package totals about €16.3 billion in savings, far below more than €40 billion in cuts outlined by a Health Ministry expert commission for 2027.
- Key changes would restrict free co‑insurance for spouses and raise co‑payments, with reports suggesting affected households could face several hundred euros a month in new charges.
- Roughly 70% of the measures cut payments to providers and funds, hitting hospitals, doctors’ practices, manufacturers and the sickness funds themselves.
- Facing a projected €15 billion deficit next year, ministers are weighing a sugar levy and higher tobacco and alcohol taxes to raise prevention-linked revenue, while coalition parties remain split on passing the package unchanged.