Green Light from Ministerial Council for Health Reform Fund

The health reform fund will be financed by higher health insurance contributions for pensioners. From 2026 to 2030, the funds are intended to help health insurance companies improve care in the outpatient sector, for example through extended opening hours and telemedicine. In addition, patient flows are to be optimized, health care and prevention promoted in an age-appropriate manner, and mental health and digitization supported in the funds.

Complex Parent-Child Pass Causes Delay

There is a delay with the electronic parent-child pass, namely "due to the complexity of the project," as stated in the explanations of the government's legislative proposal. Instead of starting on January 1, it will now begin on October 1, 2026. From this point on, newly determined pregnancies will be documented exclusively in electronic form (and no paper booklet will be issued). Additionally, from March 1, 2027, data on children born from this day will be stored electronically.

Another government decision concerns an amendment that changes the federal law on documentation in the healthcare sector. With it, from January 1, 2026 - also a delay of one year - general practitioners will be required to code their patients' diagnoses using ICD-10 codes. Only those private doctors who treat fewer than 300 patients per year will be exempt from the obligation, as explained by the Ministry of Health to the APA.

The Medical Association opposed the amendment, objecting to the short review period of just under a week, but also expressed data protection concerns. On the government side, reference was made to a valid data protection report. The short deadline was explained by time pressure, which was partly due to the delaying resistance of the medical representatives. Through diagnosis coding, it is hoped to better plan health services and structures in the future, identify risk groups, and obtain data for healthcare research and epidemiology.

(APA/Red)

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