German Bundesrat considers health‑spending reform amid broader legislative package

The Bundesrat scheduled a vote on the federal government’s health‑spending reform before the summer break, following its passage by the Bundestag. The package is intended to ease the fiscal pressure on statutory health insurance by 2027 through spending caps on doctors, hospitals, pharmacies and the pharmaceutical industry, higher co‑payments for medicines and tighter rules on free spousal coverage. State governments, many of which run deficit‑strained municipal hospitals, voiced strong concerns and called for federal financial support; Bremen’s Minister‑President Andreas Bovenschulte warned the current measures do not make the plan viable.

In the same session the Bundesrat also approved a suite of other reforms: a new building‑modernisation law that replaces previous heating regulations and permits gas or oil boilers if they use CO₂‑neutral fuels from 2029; an infrastructure‑future law designed to speed up major transport projects; a law tightening the recognition of foreign paternity to curb abuse; a consumer‑repair right obligating manufacturers to repair certain devices at reasonable cost; legislation allowing construction of up to 11 GW of new gas‑fired power plants, with a plan to convert them to hydrogen by 2045; and a digital airport‑processing law that introduces optional facial‑recognition check‑in and boarding procedures.