The German healthcare system is embroiled in a bitter dispute over funding, escalating into accusations of fraud and sparking a fierce backlash from hospital leaders. The head of the German Hospital Federation (DKG), Gerald Gaß, has condemned as “outrageous” allegations leveled by the umbrella association of company health insurance funds (BKK), going so far as to demand the dissolution of the BKK federal association.
The controversy began when Anne-Kathrin Klemm, chair of the BKK association, accused hospitals of deliberate misrepresentation of nursing costs in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ). Klemm suggested that some institutions were artificially inflating nursing expenses by training administrative staff as nursing assistants solely to bill for their salaries under the nursing budget, contributing significantly to the rapidly rising healthcare expenditures.
Gaß vehemently refuted these accusations, characterizing them as baseless. He insisted that budget allocations are rigorously audited by independent economic auditors and questioned Klemm’s competence, suggesting she either lacked understanding of the process or was deliberately attempting to smear hospital management. He demanded concrete evidence to support the fraud claims, absent which he considered them a deliberate defamation.
Beyond the nursing budget allegations, Gaß accused Klemm of using calls for the abolition of the unlimited nursing budget as a tactic to prevent salary increases for nursing staff. Her critique of the deregulation of physician fees also faces widespread disapproval within the healthcare sector. Andreas Gassen, chair of the Federal Association of Statutory Health Physicians (KBV), dismissed her position as “pure polemic” emphasizing the necessity of lifting the fee caps for pediatricians and general practitioners to improve patient access, while noting that 40 million specialist appointments remain uncompensated annually.
While Klemm’s accusations have drawn condemnation from many quarters, she has found a powerful ally in Oliver Blatt, chair of the General Statutory Health Insurance Fund Association (GKV). Blatt described the coming year as critical for stabilizing health insurance finances, arguing that current austerity measures championed by Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) are insufficient. Blatt projects the GKV’s financial burden from physician fees, rising drug prices and expanded services will exceed €20 billion by 2026.
Mirroring Klemm’s concerns, Blatt raised the possibility of further contribution rate increases later this year. “Without sustainable changes, millions of insured individuals and their employers must prepare for health insurance contributions to rise again by the next turn of the year” he warned, signaling a potentially destabilizing future for the German healthcare system and raising questions about the long-term viability of the current funding model. The escalating conflict highlights deep systemic challenges and exposes a growing political pressure to address the financial strain on Germany’s social safety net.