As of: February 3, 2024, 7:44 a.m
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Help in the household or support in everyday life: There are special items for those in need of care.
But many people don't even know what their requirements are.
© Marijan Murat / dpa
In 2023, those in need of care did not use around four billion euros in claims to the so-called relief amount.
The good news is that these claims have not expired yet.
Munich - Those in need of care will have left around four billion euros in 2023 in relief claims alone - i.e. cash that the state will make available to them to support them.
But nothing is lost yet.
The services can still be used until the end of June this year - for example for extensive spring cleaning or short-term care.
Relief amount: Up to 1500 euros
Help around the house, accompaniment at doctor's visits and when going for walks or short-term care in the home lasting several weeks - for such services, all those in need of care living at home are entitled to 125 euros per month, i.e. 1500 euros annually.
This is intended to relieve the burden on the relatives who would otherwise take on the care.
Many don’t use entitlement
It is not known how many people in need of care use the service, the Federal Ministry of Health explains upon request.
What is known, however, is that the nursing care funds have spent a total of 2.6 billion euros on this in 2022.
That sounds like a lot.
But those affected have actually only used around 40 percent of their entitlement to the relief amount.
In 2022, there were already significantly more than four million people in need of outpatient care.
If they had taken full advantage of the relief amount, the nursing care funds would have had to spend at least 6.2 billion euros on this.
This makes it clear: benefit claims amounting to almost 3.6 billion euros remained unused in 2022 alone, and in 2023, with the number of people in need of care increasing, they will probably reach around four billion.
Claims have not yet expired
The good news is that the 2023 entitlements have not expired yet.
They are still available until June of this year.
For example, those in need of care who did not take advantage of the relief amount in 2023 can use a total of 2,250 euros in one fell swoop in June 2024.
Short-term care is financed
For example, short-term care in a nursing home can be fully financed together with the subsidy that the nursing care insurance already pays for this.
Caring relatives can then go on vacation while the person in need of care is temporarily cared for in a nursing home.
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Invoices and receipts
The relief amount is not paid out to those in need of care; rather, they must submit meaningful invoices or receipts from the respective service providers to their care fund or private care insurer.
The money advanced will then be reimbursed to you within the budget that you can claim.
Only recognized services use tidying, cleaning, washing and ironing.
A person in need of care who has this and similar work done by a neighbor and pays them for it can usually not settle the payments with their care insurance company.
They must be recognized services or people who provide the services.
The Federal Social Court decided this on August 30, 2023
(ref.: B 3 P 6/23 R).
Care insurance companies must provide information
The health insurance companies have an obligation to provide advice to those in need of care and their relatives.
In the ruling, the Federal Social Court held the nursing care funds responsible for the relief amount.
Upon request, they must “immediately and in an appropriate form provide an overview of, among other things, the everyday support services available in their catchment area”
(ref.: B 3 P 4/22 R).
New right to information
Because the mix of care insurance benefits is confusing, those in need of care now have a legal right to a six-monthly overview of the services they have used from the care insurance.
The request for such an overview only needs to be expressed once and it will then be sent regularly.
This is intended to make it clear “to what extent services are still available over the course of the year”.
This is what it says in the justification for the legal regulation, which came into force on January 1, 2024.
With the new regulation, the legislature primarily wants to promote the use of the relief allowance as well as short-term and preventive care.
Request an overview from the cash register
Those in need of care should not be satisfied with a mere receipt for services received, but should also request an overview of unused entitlements.
“At the request of the insured, we will also point out remaining claims (relief amount, short-term and preventive care) in the letter,” explains Laura Hassinger from the Techniker Krankenkasse.