Lower Saxony: Hospital plan 2026 on the home stretch!

Lower Saxony: Hospital plan 2026 on the home stretch!

The last meeting of the hospital planning committee in 2025 took place in Lower Saxony today. The focus was on the regular updating of the hospital plan, which contributes significantly to improving health care. The members discussed the relocation of planned beds within specialist departments and between network clinics, which could result in both optimization of patient care and corporate law adjustments in the ownership of clinics. These discussions are important because they create a reliable basis for investment decisions from 2026, as kma-online.de reports.

The Lower Saxony Minister of Health Dr. Andreas Philippi (SPD) also gave insights into the status of the nationwide hospital reform. What is particularly exciting is that the Federal Cabinet approved the draft of the Hospital Adaptation Act (KHAG) at the beginning of October. Experts from various federal states, including Lower Saxony, are calling for improvements there, especially in the location regulations for service groups and the recognition of certain specialists. An important point: The KHAG provides for a postponement of the performance group allocation to January 1, 2028.

Psychiatric capacities in focus

Another point worth discussing could be psychiatric care. There are still uncertainties here and an independent needs assessment has already been commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs. The aim is to evaluate the applications to expand psychiatric capacities in a well-founded manner. Current and planned investment projects were also discussed to ensure that future supply needs can be adequately covered, as is also explained on the website of the Lower Saxony Ministry for Social Affairs, Health and Equality.

In addition, the committee wants to apply to the Federal Office for Social Security (BAS) for structural measures amounting to 445 million euros for 2026. The various members of the committee are involved here, including the Ministry of Health, municipal umbrella organizations as well as the Lower Saxony Hospital Association and health insurance associations.

Technical implementation and future outlook

Lower Saxony continues to strive to advance the technical implementation of the preliminary work into the new KHAG procedure. The Hospital Transformation Fund Ordinance (KHTFV) required for this is already legally binding and regulates the application process for the funding. Amicable regulations and flexible adjustments should be sought when drawing up and updating the hospital plan in order to ensure the best possible health care for citizens.

Overall, Lower Saxony has taken major steps to make the hospital landscape future-proof and to eliminate any existing supply bottlenecks. The cooperation of all actors will be crucial to successfully implement the ambitious goals.