Commission begins work: nursing care insurance in need

dpa A new federal government reform commission began its work on Tuesday. By the end of January, 13 experts will be asked to think about how long-term care insurance can be financed in a stable, long-term manner. The issue affects millions of people. Based on the Commission's proposals, the Minister of Health wants to implement a major care reform by July 1, 2027.

Nursing insurance has a financing problem. One reason: the increasing number of people in need of care who receive care insurance benefits. In 2005 there were just under 2, now there are 6 million. Society is aging, and the number of people in need of care is likely to continue to rise. At the same time, the base of depositors in the system is shrinking. The Ministry of Health also points to increased wages and expenses in care.

The commission should now “develop recommendations for sustainable financing, better nursing care and greater use of preventive and rehabilitative offers in care,” according to the Ministry of Health.

The government's care representative, Katrin Staffler (CSU), mentioned the question of accommodation on Deutschlandfunk. In addition to care at home or in a nursing home, there are intermediate forms such as care shared apartments, which fall through the cracks when it comes to services, even though they are sometimes significantly cheaper than homes. It should also be examined whether the so-called own contributions for residential accommodation, i.e. what residents pay themselves, can be limited.

The federal government only recently decided on initial, short-term measures. Accordingly, childless people should pay more for nursing care insurance from January. The so-called contribution assessment limit also increases. In addition, a premium surcharge of 0.52 percent for co-insurance for spouses or life partners is planned from 2028, with exceptions for caring relatives, for example.