SHERIDAN, WYOMING - November 15, 2025 - Germany's hospital sector is bracing for a turbulent year as financing uncertainty, staffing shortages, and sweeping regulatory changes collide. Ahead of the 48th Deutscher Krankenhaustag, which takes place November 17-20 in Düsseldorf during MEDICA, health-sector leaders are preparing to challenge the federal government on the consequences of the forthcoming Hospital Reform Adjustment Act and planned €1.8 billion in budget cuts.
Hospitals Sound the Alarm as Reform Pressures Intensify
The Deutscher Krankenhaustag will center on the theme "Neustart Krankenhauspolitik - Mut zur Veränderung", reflecting mounting concern over the structural fragility of the hospital landscape. As operational burdens increase and investment backlogs widen, hospital executives argue that the reform package threatens to accelerate location closures, reduce bed capacity, and force cutbacks in essential services.
The pressure on the system is compounded by factors already straining operations: declining financial stability, chronic workforce shortages, and a proliferation of administrative mandates that divert clinical resources. Many hospitals fear they are entering 2026 with less visibility, less liquidity, and fewer strategic options.
"The federal government is planning massive savings"
At a MEDICA digital press briefing, Normann Schuster, Managing Director of the Society of the German Hospital Day (GDK), offered a blunt assessment of the consequences:
"The federal government is planning massive savings, a significant reduction in hospital sites and beds, as well as a reduction in inpatient services. In the end, this will also mean cuts for the patients."
Schuster, who also serves as Chief Executive of the Association of Senior Hospital Physicians (VLK), criticized the federal plan to maintain an "unsuitable" standby financing model and warned that new regulatory obligations and tightened performance and staffing audits would further destabilize hospitals.
Despite the criticism, Schuster emphasized the importance of continued dialogue: the Krankenhaustag remains "the ideal platform" to confront policymakers, including Federal Health Minister Nina Warken, on the real-world consequences of their reform agenda.
High-Level Policy Debate Anchors the Opening Sessions
The opening program will feature Minister Warken, NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann, and national health policy stakeholders. Together with hospital representatives, they will examine the current reform trajectory, sector expectations, and the political decision points that will shape the hospital landscape into the 2030s.
The organizers expect the policy sessions to be among the most closely watched of the entire MEDICA week, given the volatility surrounding hospital financing and the contentious debate over future structural planning.
Operational Readiness, Cybersecurity, and Crisis Resilience Move to the Fore
Operational risk and crisis preparedness will take center stage on the second day of the congress. The session "Sind die Kliniken für die Krisenbewältigung bereit?" will dive into legal resilience planning, preparedness for conflict-related disruptions, and escalating cybersecurity threats-issues that have become central to hospital board agendas.
Additional sessions address AI adoption in clinical operations, digital workflows, and strategies to reduce bureaucratic overhead, reflecting areas where hospitals seek near-term gains in efficiency amid financial pressure.
Nursing Workforce Transformation as a Strategic Imperative
A dedicated full-day program on the third congress day will focus on structural pressures in nursing, including staffing laws, intersectoral care concepts, and emerging qualification and delegation models. As nursing remains the single largest bottleneck in German hospital operations, expectations are high for forward-looking debate on practical reform pathways that can stabilize care delivery.
Global Perspectives on Hospital Development and Innovation
The international congress day will compare German and Chinese hospital development strategies, exploring digitalization, AI-enabled clinical infrastructure, and emergency architecture. This cross-border exchange underscores hospitals' need to benchmark best practices and explore scalable technologies as they navigate their own transformation.
Learn More
Full program details and livestream access for the Deutscher Krankenhaustag 2025 are available at www.deutscher-krankenhaustag.de.