Germany’s Bundestag voted on July 10, 2026 to approve a savings package for the statutory health insurance system (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, or GKV) — a change that will mean higher medication co-payments and new limits on free family coverage for many insured members.
Of 609 lawmakers who voted, 318 backed the bill from Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU), 284 voted against it, and four abstained. The package combines spending brakes on doctors’ practices, hospitals, pharmacies and the pharmaceutical industry with higher costs for insured members. The Health Ministry had projected a deficit of up to 19 billion euros for statutory insurers next year without the reform, and warned that contribution rates could otherwise rise by one percentage point in 2027.
Under the final version, co-payments for medications rise from a range of 5 to 10 euros to a range of 7.50 to 15 euros, though a planned annual adjustment of that range was dropped. Free co-insurance for spouses will be restricted, but with wider exceptions than first proposed: it remains available for parents of children under 12, up from under 7 in the original draft. Starting in 2028, members whose partners no longer qualify for free co-insurance will pay a 2.5 percent contribution surcharge. Certain extra payments to doctors, such as for walk-in hours without an appointment, are being scrapped, and increases in hospital reimbursement will be capped.
What this means for you: If you or a family member is in Germany’s statutory health insurance system, expect higher co-payments for prescription medicines, and check whether a spouse’s free co-insurance status is affected by the new age and income rules. The Bundesrat was due to debate the same bill on July 10; it cannot block the law but could delay it by sending it to a mediation committee.