Taking over your own contributions: care costs for municipalities increased by 33 percent

epd | According to a newspaper report, the “assistance with care” paid by municipalities has increased by a third within two years. As the general manager of the Association of Cities and Municipalities, André Berghegger, told the Augsburger Allgemeine (Tuesday), these costs nationwide grew from 4.5 billion euros in 2023 to 6 billion last year - an increase of 33 percent.

According to the report, social welfare offices pay “assistance with care” when residents and relatives can no longer pay their own contributions. Berghegger told the newspaper that this item is one of the fastest growing social expenditures in municipalities and is exacerbating the financial difficulties of cities and municipalities in many places.

The municipal umbrella association advocated a “base-top exchange”: Berghegger demanded “that in the future all those in need of care pay a fixed contribution and the costs beyond that are then covered by the care insurance company.”