Reimbursement

The State-Regions Conference formally approved the draft Ministerial Decree updating the maximum national reimbursement tariffs for outpatient specialist services and prosthetic aids under the Essential Levels of Care (LEA) catalog. The revision covers 448 outpatient specialist services and 222 prosthetic-care codes. The draft does not revise the laboratory test tariffs.

In July 2026, an independent review of UK pathology services was published. It covers seven main areas: international experience, the devolved UK nations, quality, workforce, patient access, digital and diagnostic infrastructure, and value and funding. Among the six system-wide priorities, the report recommends aligning digital, workforce, and funding reforms into a single implementation program, moving towards activity-aligned funding through a price-per-test tariff model.

On July 1, 2026, the revised EBM (German Uniform Evaluation Standard) catalog for the third quarter of 2026 came into force. The EBM catalog is used to reimburse day case and outpatient services under the fee-for-service model. The main changes introduced concern updates of the contents (service legends, preambles of several EBM subchapters) and the introduction of several new EBM codes.

On June 29, 2026, the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI/RIZIV) published an update on the ongoing reform of the Nomenclature of healthcare services, including progress across key phases, methodological developments, and timelines. The reform aims to separate physician remuneration from practice costs and is scheduled for publication on October 1, 2028, with national implementation planned from January 1, 2029.

On June 11, 2026, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) announced a number of changes to the reimbursement of human genetics tests to be introduced as of October 1, 2026. The package of changes includes, among other measures, a reduction in the reimbursement values for human genetic services and the introduction of additional volume-based reimbursement reductions at the practice level. These measures are intended to reduce expenditure on human genetic tests by 31%.

On June 2, 2026, OAAT AG and the tariff partners submitted the 2027 revision of the new Swiss comprehensive outpatient reimbursement system to the Federal Council for approval. The revision further develops the new system introduced in January 2026, incorporating feedback from the annual application process and focusing on updates to outpatient flat rates and TARDOC across nuclear medicine, surgery, pathology, pediatrics, and emergency care. If approved, the revised version will take effect on January 1, 2027.

On May 1, 2026, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) published the first release of the 2027 DRG package (RZ27a). Seven new procedure codes, one new diagnosis code, two new supplementary payments (OZPs), and 23 DRGs will be implemented across multiple fields, including gastrointestinal, gynecology, pulmonology, men’s health, and in-vitro diagnostics (pathology).

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations on the registration of medical devices and medical aids in the List of Reimbursable Products and Services (LPPR) following the April 2026 meetings of the National Commission for the Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS). Favorable opinions were issued for the add-on reimbursement of 14 new devices and for the extension of indications for three devices. Opinions concerned multiple fields, including cardiovascular, diagnostic imaging, ENT, e-health, endocrine, interventional radiology, nephrology, neuromodulation, orthopedics, spine, peripheral vascular, and pulmonology.

The French National Authority for Health (HAS) released new recommendations on the registration of medical devices and medical aids in the List of Reimbursable Products and Services (LPPR) following the March 2026 meetings of the National Commission for the Evaluation of Medical Devices and Health Technologies (CNEDiMTS). A favorable opinion was issued on the add-on reimbursement for three new devices in the gastrointestinal endoscopy, men’s health, and orthopedics fields.

On March 26, 2026, NHS England published the final version of the 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme, effective from April 1, 2026. While the overall payment model remains largely unchanged, several targeted updates have been introduced. These include new blended payments for urgent and emergency care, radiotherapy, and genomic testing, as well as two new Best Practice Tariffs (BPTs) to incentivize day case procedures and support 10 Year Health Plan referral-to-treatment (RTT) priorities.

In March 2026, the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) published regulations on the budgetary funding for emergency care. The final financial result is determined by the revenue from the provisional budget (set in advance) and the final budget (determined after the end of the year). A new supplementary payment with a fixed, provider-specific tariff will be introduced for the billing and calculation of budgets of ER departments. The regulations enter into force on July 1, 2026.

In March 2026, the SwissDRG, the entity managing the DRG system in Switzerland, announced that it would be accepting applications for changes from June 1, 2026, until July 13, 2026. The results of the DRG applications made in 2026 will be reflected in the 2028 version of the SwissDRG.