Social Affairs: BUND-Länder-AG for large care reform starts

The care comes to millions of people and relatives to be more and more expensive, and the costs for long -term care insurance also increase and increase. In order to fundamentally stabilize the financing, a working group of the federal and state governments should now develop suggestions for a reform. The committee provided for in the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD and SPD comes together today for its constituent meeting with Federal Minister of Health Nina Warken (CDU). Results are said to be this year.

The goal is a “future pact of care”, as it was said in advance from the ministry. Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) and other ministries also belong to the AG, and the department heads responsible for care on the country side. The municipal umbrella organizations and the black and red coalition factions in the Bundestag are also involved.

The financial nuts in nursing have already become chronic. After a deficit of 1.5 billion euros last year, the next contribution to the contribution after the previous one in the summer of 2023. This year, long -term care insurance expects a small minus of 166 million euros. The federal government plans to stabilize a loan of 500 million euros and still one of 1.5 billion euros in 2026. So that premium increases will not have to come again next year, there is still no money.

The financial injections should now give politics time to tackle the targeted “large reform”. Overview of the construction sites and adjustment screws:

The number of people who receive care benefits is increasing significantly – “to a stronger extent than is expected by the aging of society”, as the Federal Statistical Office explained. The background is a reform of 2017 that introduced further criteria for the classification of a need for care. There are currently 5.6 million beneficiaries after it was 4.0 million in 2019. According to a forecast by the official statisticians, there could be an increase to 7.6 million people in need of care by 2055.

Last year’s expenditure rose to 63.2 billion euros last year after just under 57 billion euros 2023. In 2014 it was still 24 billion euros and in 2019 a good 40 billion euros. A major cost factor are increasing personnel expenses for urgently needed nursing staff. Since 2022, the care contracts of the long -term care funds have only been possible with homes that pay according to collective agreements or similar.

For people in need of care and their relatives, care means that they have to pay part themselves – and it increases and increases. Unlike health insurance, the long -term care insurance does not bear the full costs. For the approximately 800,000 people in need of care in homes, accommodation and meals are added, and levies for investments in homes and training are also passed on. At the beginning of 2025, this added up to almost 3000 euros a month after cash data in the first year of the home stay in the national average.

Some cost dampers have already installed previous federal governments. In this way, residents of residents have now increased surcharges that are supposed to alleviate the increase in additional payments for pure care. The long -term care insurance costs this annually. The care allowance for people who are looked after at home was increased again in 2024 after several years. A federal grant of one billion euros per year was deleted.

Various suggestions for a financial reform have long been on the table: from more tax billions to lids for your own shares to a conversion of the model to full insurance, which bears all care costs. The long-term care insurance companies also demand that the federal government will reimburse billions of bills from the Corona crisis and pay pension contributions for caring relatives. BUND-Länder-AG is also intended to check incentives for more self-provision-and the scope of services.

Bavaria demands more money from the BUND for long -term care insurance

Before the meeting, Bavaria once again demanded significantly more federal funds for long -term care insurance. Non -insurance benefits would finally have to be financed from tax funds, the sustainable financing should not be postponed by loans “to the long bank”, said Minister of Health Judith Gerlach (CSU) of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”.

The German Foundation for Patient Protection referred to the high costs that were added to insured persons and those in need. For example, nursing home residents paid medical care from their own pocket, criticized board member Eugen Brysch. The BUND-LANDER Commission must stop undesirable developments.