Overview
- Essen says patients will be billed about €267 per rescue transport from January 2026, with hardship provisions under consideration.
- Other areas including Rhein-Sieg, Mettmann and Ennepe-Ruhr are assessing similar measures, while Hamm rules out billing callers and Cologne recalculates fees in hopes of a deal.
- Statutory insurers have reduced reimbursements by roughly 25% since September 1 and argue SGB V confines payment to transports to hospital.
- Municipalities cite mounting shortfalls, with Städtetag NRW estimating around €250 million a year statewide and Hamm projecting €1.4 million in 2025 and €5.4 million in 2026.
- NRW Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann plans to mediate as insurers push structural changes such as consolidating and networking dispatch centers.