Major statutory health insurance reform under development in Germany

On June 12, 2026, the Bundestag held its first reading of the planned financial reform of the statutory health insurance system (GKV). The German Federal Government has proposed a comprehensive reform package to address the severe financial deficit in the GKV.

According to the draft legislation, the GKV is expected to face a funding gap of €15.3 billion by 2027, potentially rising to approximately €40 billion by 2030 if no corrective measures are taken. The reform seeks to stabilize contribution rates through a combination of expenditure controls and additional revenues. Overall, the measures are expected to relieve the GKV by approximately €16.3 billion in 2027 and up to €38.1 billion by 2030.

Some of the key measures proposed to be introduced are provided below:

• Abolition of costly special reimbursement arrangements and double financing mechanisms (e.g., in somatic hospitals: lump-sum funding for nursing-relief measures amounting to 2.5% of the nursing budget; in outpatient settings: surcharges for the prompt start of treatment following appointment mediation, extra-budgetary reimbursement for treatment in such cases, and in open consultation hours);
• Limitations of annual reimbursement increases across all healthcare sectors;
• Caps on growth of hospital nursing budgets;
• Coverage restrictions (will not be reimbursed anymore: cannabis flowers, homeopathic and anthroposophic medicines, and related services, routine whole-body skin cancer screening without a specific indication).

The draft regulation was published by the Bundestag on May 26, 2026.

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