Karl Lauterbach's care reform has important innovations in store, and it's not just about higher contributions.
What the minister is planning.
Berlin – The new care reform is intended to relieve those in need of care and their families.
But Karl Lauterbach's (SPD) reform also creates an additional burden for some.
On Wednesday, the cabinet approved the draft of the Federal Minister of Health.
"Since the costs of good care are constantly increasing, the community of solidarity must not look the other way and leave these higher costs to those to be cared for and their relatives," said Lauterbach about the plans.
But what exactly should change now?
An overview.
Nursing allowance increases: More help for care at home
According to the draft, the care allowance that was last increased in 2017 should increase by five percent on January 1, 2024.
The amounts of benefits in kind are also to be increased by the same amount.
Nursing allowance is paid as support when people in need of care live at home rather than in institutions.
You can use it freely, for example for care or help in the household.
The amount differs depending on the level of care and is between 316 and 901 euros per month.
Restriction lifted: care support allowance annually in the future
From January 1st, the care support allowance for relatives can be claimed more often.
So far, it has been limited to ten working days per person in need of care.
From January 1, 2024 there will be an entitlement of ten days per year.
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© Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Degree of care: New procedure for determination
According to the Ministry of Health, the regulations for determining the need for care, which have become “complex and non-transparent”, are to be restructured in the future.
This is intended to make the procedure “clearer and more appropriate to the addressee”.
Higher care contributions for childless people
According to a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, future care contributions should be more clearly differentiated according to whether you have children or not.
Larger families with two or more children should benefit from this.
This is to be combined with the July 1 increase in general contribution.
The employer's contribution is to increase from the current 1.525 percent to 1.7 percent.
However, the lower contributions for parents only apply as long as the children to be taken into account are under the age of 25.
You can read about how high the contributions will be in the future in the following table:
Relief for residents: surcharges should increase
Relief surcharges introduced in 2022 are also to be increased for residents of homes on January 1, 2024.
The personal contribution for pure care should be reduced by 15 instead of the previous 5 percent in the first year in the home, by 30 instead of 25 percent in the second, by 50 instead of 45 percent in the third and by 75 instead of 70 percent from the fourth year.
The background to this is that nursing care insurance – unlike health insurance – only pays part of the costs for pure nursing care.
In the home, there are also payments for accommodation, food and investments in the facilities.
List of rubrics: © Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
