Berlin – November 03, 2026 -- Germany's statutory health physicians' association KBV is calling for the planned Health Security Act (GeSiG) to be tabled as a draft "very soon", saying current social insurance law provides no adequate framework for outpatient care in a crisis or defense scenario.
About 200 experts from politics, the military, healthcare, rescue and aid organizations, and civil protection attended the symposium "Healthcare in Total Defense" in Berlin. The Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KBV) and Lt. Gen. (Surgeon) Dr. Ralf Hoffmann co-hosted. Hoffmann is the Defense Ministry's medical adviser and commander of the Bundeswehr Joint Medical Service. The event was the second edition of the format.
KBV lists five requirements for crisis resilience
KBV Deputy Chairman Dr. Stephan Hofmeister said the dialogue with the Bundeswehr began in June 2025 and has since deepened. He argued that the decentralized network of practices run by physicians and psychotherapists can contribute substantially, but that Book V of the Social Code (SGB V) does not support this role. The KBV wants GeSiG to cover:
- a uniform identification of all people to be treated, compatible with the telematics infrastructure;
- binding patient steering;
- medication and material supply;
- rules for adapting the care offering;
- financing provisions.
Regional associations seek seats in crisis command centers
Hofmeister said the regional Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KVen) must be integrated at the appropriate level into situation and decision centers. This would let them feed outpatient capacity into the situational picture and direct patients into the outpatient system. He added that the interfaces identified at the symposium need to be exercised.
Bundeswehr cites near-daily cyberattacks
Hoffmann said threats are already concrete, with cyberattacks occurring almost daily. He said no script exists for a crisis or defense case, so actors need to know each other, understand their responsibilities and practice cooperation in advance.
Participants included Katja Kohfeld, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health; Brig. Gen. David Markus of the Defense Ministry; Dr. Andreas Philippi, Lower Saxony's health minister and chair of the Health Ministers' Conference; and Giulio Gullotta of the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance. A report with concrete recommendations for action is planned to follow the symposium.