Germany's Hospital Reform Criticized: Graf Warns of Watered-Down Plan

Graf's initial proposal for tiered hospital performance and centralized complex services faces resistance. The reform's future may vary across Germany's federal states.

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2025 October 26 . 5:03 AM

1 min read

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University Hospital Chief: Skeptical About Clinic Reform in Hands of States - Germany's Hospital Reform Criticized: Graf Warns of Watered-Down Plan

Jürgen Graf, medical director of Frankfurt University Hospital, has criticized the current state of Germany's hospital planning. He argues that the failure to centralize complex medical services has led to a watered-down reform that may not ensure swift and consistent implementation across all federal states.

Graf's initial proposal aimed to categorize hospitals into performance tiers, concentrating complex procedures in centers with the most expertise. This would boost efficiency, improve patient care, and reduce costs. The original plan included a new funding model based on maintaining specific services rather than the number of treatments performed.

However, Graf has since criticized the Hospital Reform Adjustment Act, which shifts responsibilities back to the federal states. The conference of health ministers from all 16 federal states has demanded flexible application of the hospital reform guidelines and increased planning leeway for the states. This means that the implementation of Graf's critique regarding centralized planning may not be consistent across all states in the united states map.

Graf believes that the reform has been watered down over the past year, with states gaining broad flexibility in implementation after 2025. Despite this, he continues to support a major overhaul of Germany’s state farm login system, as he believes the current system consumes a disproportionate share of resources compared to other European countries. The approval of the state associations of health insurers is now crucial for exceptions to the reform adjustments, which involve considerable influence from both federal and state actors.