Health insurance and medical transportation

The statutory health insurance system is to become financially more stable. There is nothing objectionable about that for the time being. But the new reimbursement caps place taxi firms under considerable pressure. The industry warns of a cost–revenue gap – and consequences for patient care.

The requirements for documentation and billing in the patient-transport business are increasing. With a new cooperation partner, the Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars aims to relieve its members of administrative burdens.

Rising wages, higher operating costs and a new statutory cap on remuneration are putting patient transport under pressure. At an action day in Ahlen, lawyers and industry representatives discussed the consequences of the GKV Contribution Rate Stabilization Act—and the question of whether patient transports can still be provided economically in the future.

The cost curve in the taxi and rental-car industry continues to rise. The Rhineland Association of the Transport Industry warns of growing economic risks and calls on both health insurance funds and the licensing authorities to act. At the center are patient transports, taxi fares, and the question of how mobility should be funded in the future.

The warning is unusually clear. In a circular to its members, the Association of Sick- and Disabled-Transport Services NRW (VdKBf NRW) is sounding the alarm. The trigger is a letter from the Association of Substitute Health Insurers (vdek), which already indicates how the statutory health insurers intend to interpret the new statutory requirements for remuneration development from 2027.

The taxi and rental car industry is facing important legal and economic turning points. At the action day for ride services on September 19 in Ahlen, industry representatives, lawyers and entrepreneurs will discuss two topics that directly affect the future of many businesses: the GKV Contribution Rate Stabilization Act and the consequences of a recent court decision on taxi special agreements.

Sometimes the future of an industry is decided in a paragraph that hardly anyone outside of professional circles knows, or: why a draft bill in Berlin is currently occupying not only health insurers, but also taxi and car-rental companies.

After the stop of the 1,000-euro relief premium, the German Taxi and Rental Car Association warns of higher levies for businesses.

Two-day workshop for the future of the trades - nearly 100 entrepreneurs, association representatives, lawyers, software developers and service providers gathered for the TMV Think Tank on June 25 and 26 in the Bamberg Aufseesianum. High temperatures and heated discussions included!

The discussion about the financing of the statutory health insurance remains tense. At the hearing on the planned Contribution Stabilization Act in the Bundestag, it became clear that many experts acknowledge the need for action, but view the present draft bill critically.

Experts from opta data informed taxi and rental car companies about common mistakes in ordering, documentation and billing of patient transports. There was strong interest from the industry.

It begins with a question that, above all, many older people know: How do I get home after an eye operation? The Eckert Eye Center provides a transport service for such cases – but isn’t this fee-based service actually a taxi matter? Over two years ago we already reported on this case; nothing has been clarified so far.

While the public debate about the new GKV contribution-rate stabilization law revolves mainly around hospitals, doctors, and rising health insurance contributions, the taxi and rental-car industry looks to Berlin with growing concern. For there, with the GKV reform, nothing less than the future of many taxi businesses is at stake.

Medical transports have been among the most reliable lines of business for many taxi and hire-car companies for years. While other market segments are changing, trips to doctor's offices, clinics, dialysis centers or rehabilitation facilities provide a steady stream of work. For many businesses, they have now become an important part of revenue.

When the cheapest price becomes a problem - who takes children to school in the morning, drives people with disabilities to facilities, or organizes the transport of kindergarten children, often works far from public attention. But behind these trips lies a market that is under pressure in many places.

The taxi trade is confronted with plummeting revenues, disputes over patient transport, rising fuel costs, platform pressure and digitization. The TMV aims to push back against this and therefore invites at the end of June to Bamberg for the "Think Tank 2026." In doing so, the association deliberately focuses on discussion rather than the usual panel routine.

Taxi companies in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are sounding the alarm. After talks with the Minister-President, the question remains as to how dumping contracts can be prevented.

In the tension between social law and passenger transport, the pressure on the taxi and rental-car industry is growing. What at first glance appears to be a pragmatic instrument for cost control, upon closer examination develops into a structural problem: special agreements under § 51 of the Passenger Transport Act (PBefG) in the context of the Social Code (SGB).

The dispute over the reimbursement for patient transport by taxis and rental cars in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern remains unresolved. After the health insurers rejected the industry association's final offer on April 16, 2026, the attempt to conclude a unified framework agreement has also failed. The fronts have hardened, and the consequences could extend far beyond the industry.

A ministerial draft from the Federal Ministry of Health is to link patient transports to the base wage rate. The VSPV warns of economic distortions in rural areas and sees legal conflicts with existing law.

Representatives of the North Rhine-Westphalia Mobility Association VSPV travel to the Baltic Sea coast to back up their colleagues from the state association of the taxi and rental-car trade in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It is about money, responsibilities—and the question of how binding the rules in the passenger transport law actually are.

After failed negotiations, as of April 1, numerous businesses have suspended patient transport services. An expert opinion by the VSPV assesses individual contracts with health insurers in the mandatory transport sector as inadmissible and calls for official scrutiny.

In the dispute over the reimbursement for non-emergency medical transport, taxi companies and health insurers are moving closer to an agreement. The state association has significantly reduced its demand and proposes a temporary solution until the end of the year.

Starting this month, taxi rides to the doctor's office or to the hospital in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are at risk of being canceled. The reason for this is a dispute over remuneration. Dozens of taxi drivers protested this morning in Schwerin.

The talks have failed, the fronts have hardened – and for many patients in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a phase of uncertainty begins now. After months of negotiations, the state association of the taxi and rental-car trades and the health insurance funds could not reach an agreement on new reimbursements for patient transport even in the last round. What sounds like a collective-bargaining dispute is turning into a problem with the provision of care.

Since March 1, it affects the DAK insured in Rostock; from April 1, 2026, the insured of all health insurance funds across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: they can no longer be transported to their treatments.

The managing director of the Thuringian state association of the transport industry (LTV), Martin Kammer, has addressed taxi and rental-car operators in an open letter. His message is clear: Cooperation with capital-oriented platforms would jeopardize the economic independence of the businesses in the long term.

In a position paper on the Ministry of Health's draft bill, the Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars identifies specific changes needed in non-emergency medical transport, remuneration and bureaucracy.

The new board of the Federal Association for Taxi and Rental Cars (BVTM) aims to recalibrate the industry's advocacy. At a two-day retreat in Kassel, the body set the priorities at the end of January that are to guide its actions in the coming years: non-emergency medical transport services and a stronger embedding of the industry in the societal mobility discourse.

Insured individuals can plan and book authorization-required medical transports for the first time via smartphone. The pilot phase lasts six months.

After failed negotiations, pressure on AOK and transport service providers is mounting. The minister warns of the consequences of the strained finances of the funds, but emphasizes that insured persons can continue to be transported – also through other contracting partners.

In the discussion about the costs of ambulance deployments, the Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars (BVTM) proposes a round table "Medical Trips NRW". Solutions for the benefit of patients are urgently needed—and also possible, according to the association.

The security of supply is highly at risk, explains Ronny Bohun, a board member of the association. In the rural areas of the state, many "grey spots" are emerging or already exist.

Guido Sembach, the chairman of the state association for the taxi- and rental-car trades in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern e.V., showed the members at the general meeting on 29 November 2025 in Roggentin the dumping offer by the health insurance funds for the reimbursement of medical transports.

The CDU Economic Council proposes in a current position paper to no longer have the statutory health insurance (GKV) cover travel costs for medical treatments. This measure is intended to contribute to reducing healthcare expenditures. However, critics fear that, in particular, people with low incomes or in rural areas could be disadvantaged.

Mobility in everyday life is not a given for many visitors to the AWO-Treff in Wülfrath. Recently, an agreement between the Workers' Welfare Association and the company Taxi & Mietwagen Wülfrath has made this easier: anyone traveling to the AWO-Treff or returning from there receives a ten percent discount on the fare.

Uber Health wants to take off in Germany and ignites another debate on digitalization, responsibility, and human closeness. BVTM Chief Executive Officer Michael Oppermann warns of "dumping mobility" in healthcare.

Less paperwork, less effort: A new billing service is set to reduce administrative work for taxi and rental car companies in Bavaria – including health insurance communication and support.

With the introduction of "Uber Health" in Germany, the US platform company Uber has targeted a new business field – and it is precisely the one that is vital for many taxi companies: medical transportation.

Sometimes jurisprudence is cumbersome – yet consequential. The Federal Social Court (BSG) dealt with a rather everyday occurrence in a ruling on February 20, 2025, which mainly affects taxi and rental car businesses: Who bears the costs when a patient undertakes a medical transport without prior approval from the health insurance company?

In Thuringia, the state association of the transport industry is setting new impulses for more taxis in public transport. The Association of Central German Bus Companies views the taxi industry's proposals with skepticism.

A new association aims to bring momentum to the digitization of the healthcare industry. The opta data group has been involved from the start – with a lot of experience and clear goals.

In light of "record sick leave" in Germany, Allianz CEO Oliver Bäte advocates for the reintroduction of the waiting day for sick notes. This would mean that employees would bear the costs for the first day of illness themselves, he told Handelsblatt. Economist Raffelhüschen demands in "Bild" that there be no wages for three days in case of illness.