German hospitals protest federal health‑spending cuts

Hospitals in Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern staged a protest on June 10, handing symbolic beds to the state government to highlight a feared “supply collapse”. The Hospital Society of MV warned that without changes to the federal contribution‑stabilisation law, hospitals could lose up to €100 million next year. The federal package, drafted by Health Minister Nina Warken, aims to relieve statutory health insurance schemes by €16.3 billion in 2027, introducing stricter expense caps, higher medication co‑payments and tighter rules on spouses’ free coverage.

North‑Rhine‑Westphalia’s Health Minister Karl‑Josef Laumann cautioned that the same plan could push essential non‑profit hospitals into insolvency, threatening regional care. About two‑thirds of the state’s hospitals are run by churches, welfare organisations or foundations and cannot simply be abandoned. Laumann called for orderly market exits rather than bankruptcies.

Separately, the AOK health insurer reported that many hospital admissions of nursing‑home residents are avoidable with better care. In the Rhine‑Hamburg area, 13 admissions per 100 residents and 50 admissions per 100 for conditions such as skin ulcers, diabetes or bronchitis could be treated in homes, suggesting potential relief for strained hospitals.