Most German in-patient hospital treatment gets reimbursed by the health insurances on basis of the aG-DRG-system lump sum. The reimbursement is calculated by the cost weight assigned to a DRG multiplied by the federal base rate (BBFW). Each federal state has its own base rate, all of them make up the average federal base rate.
The federal base rate is used to calculate reimbursement in reimbursement analyses or coding brochures.
The official BBFW is based on the agreement of all LBFWs as the average of the state base case values. To be able to calculate reimbursement information for the new year earlier the German Medical Technology Association (BVMed) has been working with experts for several years to annually estimate the value. This estimate is called the notional BBFW. For the year 2026 it is € 4.561. This value can now be used to estimate the reimbursement rates for inpatient services, for example, for use in coding brochures and other reimbursement information for the year 2026.
The basis for the fictitious federal base rate for 2026 is the federal base rate for 2025 dated March 28, 2025, which was initially adjusted by 0.8% and then by 2.98% (change value). However, it remains to be seen whether all federal states will be able to take full advantage of the increase. The final federal base rate is expected to be be published by March 31, 2026 (Section 10 (5) KHEntgG). The assessment is carried out by the BVMed in consultation with the DRG Research Group.
More information on the notional federal prime rate can be found here.
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