Düsseldorf cuts aid for undocumented refugees – STAY! Medinetz warns of gaps in care

A budget decision is pending in the Düsseldorf city council that would directly affect the medical care of people without health insurance. According to the budget plans for 2026, the municipal funds for STAY! Medinetz are to be reduced to a total of 160,000 euros – about a third less than before. The association, which has been supporting people in Düsseldorf for years who do not have regular access to the health system, warns: If the cut is decided as planned, treatments and operations could in many cases no longer be financed.

2026 budget plan and savings package

The city council will discuss the 2026 budget on Thursday, March 19. The cuts are part of a larger savings package. The draft budget was submitted to the council in December 2025; it envisages a total volume of around 4.4 billion euros. The estimated revenues of about 3.9 billion euros are offset by expenses of a similar magnitude, with the annual deficit at around 357.8 million euros.

The city leadership already pointed to the tense situation when the budget was introduced – now potential for cuts is being sought in many areas.

Clearing center and emergency fund: a municipal structure under pressure

STAY! was founded in 2009. In the early years, help was mainly provided by volunteers. Since 2015, there has been a municipally funded structure in Düsseldorf that combines two functions: a clearing center and an emergency fund.

The clearing center is the first point of access to care for many affected people – especially because they depend on receiving medical help without having to reveal their identity. It organizes what medical treatment is possible, how costs can be clarified, and whether there are ways into regular care.

The emergency fund, in turn, is the financial safety net for acute cases: It has been used for treatments, medications, and also operations – in other words, wherever help cannot wait but no health insurance steps in.

Until recently, according to budget documents, the city provided 120,000 euros for the emergency fund. Another 95,000 euros went to staff for the clearing center and overhead costs. In the 2026 budget, these funds are reduced to a total of 160,000 euros. For STAY! this means: Not just "a subsidy" is lost, but a large part of the financial basis that makes it possible to promise that a necessary treatment will be paid for.

When clinics demand cost coverage, every cut becomes a concrete hurdle

How quickly budget figures turn into medical decisions becomes clear in practice where hospitals require a signed cost coverage before a procedure. STAY! describes a current case in which it is unclear whether a patient with glaucoma can be operated on – even though he is at risk of going blind.

In such situations, it is not enough that there are basically aid offers; what matters is whether financing can be firmly promised. If this certainty is lacking, procedures are delayed or not scheduled at all.

The association therefore warns that, in the event of the cut, more people will probably have to be turned away. In addition, numerous operations could no longer be paid for. This would reduce the work to the core of emergency medical aid – with the result that treatable illnesses would more often become chronic and acute cases would only appear in clinics when they are life-threatening.

Political dispute over communication – and the prospect of further cuts

STAY! criticizes that the cut came as a surprise and without warning. The council majority, on the other hand, says that debates about cuts are part of every budget year. Mirja Cordes (Alliance 90/The Greens) said at a joint press conference of the CDU and Greens on March 11 that organizations could have informed themselves in advance about the status of support so that there would be no unpleasant surprises.

Regardless of the question of how early signals were recognizable, the debate makes two things clear: First, the cut is not a minor adjustment, but an intervention in an ongoing aid system that depends on planning – both medically and organizationally. And second, it may not stop at 2026. The CDU-Green coalition indicated that the budget situation in 2027 could become even more difficult and that further savings options would be examined.

On March 19, the city council will decide whether the cut will stand. For STAY! Medinetz, it is about more than just a funding item: It is about the question of to what extent Düsseldorf will continue to practically guarantee medical help for people without regular access to the health system – and whether the city will accept the risk that necessary treatments will more often fail in the future due to a lack of cost coverage.