Despite the relief surcharge: Nursing home care is becoming more expensive

Status: 01/19/2023 11:55 a.m

The costs for care in the home have continued to rise – on average, those in need of care have to pay 2411 euros per month out of their own pocket. The pressure on Health Minister Lauterbach to reform the law is growing.

The costs of inpatient care have been rising for years. Despite the relief surcharges, the deductible is getting higher and higher. Since January 1, those in need of care and their relatives have had to pay an average of 2411 euros per month nationwide for the first year in a care facility. That is 278 euros more than at the beginning of 2022.

This was the result of an evaluation by the Association of Substitute Health Insurance Funds (vdek), which includes the Techniker Krankenkasse, Barmer and DAK-Gesundheit. The reason for the increase in costs is, among other things, higher prices for food and increased wages for nursing staff.

“The burden on those in need of care and their relatives, who often do not know how to bear the costs, is increasing again,” said the head of the substitute health insurance association, Ulrike Elsner.

Unlike health insurance, long-term care insurance only pays part of the costs. Those in need of care must pay their own share for pure care and support. For residents of the home, there are also costs for accommodation, meals and investments in the facilities.

Higher costs despite the relief surcharge

Since the beginning of 2022, those in need of care in the home have received a relief surcharge that increases with the duration of the care: For pure care there is a 5 percent surcharge in the first year, 25 percent in the second, 45 percent in the third, and from the fourth year of care the relief surcharge is 70 Percent. But even with the highest surcharge, your own costs continue to rise – on average to 1671 euros a month, 130 euros more than a year ago.

According to the Federal Ministry of Health, around 700,000 people in need of care received relief allowances in the first three quarters of 2022. 41.8 percent of the people received the highest supplement, 25.4 percent the lowest supplement because of the short length of stay in the nursing home.

For the long-term care insurance funds, the relief surcharges alone meant costs of 3.4 billion euros in 2022. The association expects “well over four billion euros” for this year.

Higher labor costs and inflation

The Association of Substitute Funds sees the reason for the higher costs in the overall increase in costs that end up with those in need of care. For example, the personal contribution for pure care on January 1, 2023 was an average of 1139 euros after 912 euros at the beginning of 2022. The background to this is often higher personnel costs.

Because since September 1, 2022, all facilities have had to pay nursing staff according to collective agreements or similar in order to be able to settle accounts with the nursing care insurance funds. The previous government wanted to make the profession more attractive and combat the shortage of nursing staff.

Added to this is inflation, which drives up the prices of food and meals. The co-payments for accommodation and food rose within a year from 801 to 857 euros.

Regional differences in costs

The survey shows that the regional differences in personal contributions are very large. In Baden-Württemberg, home places without subsidies cost the most at 2845 euros per month. In Saxony-Anhalt, the costs for a place in a home are the lowest at 1868 euros per month.

Pressure on Lauterbach

Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach also wants to take the rising costs into account – he has announced a new care law for this year.

Elsner said that there would be new burdens for the residents due to further increases in wages and a new, nationwide uniform personnel assessment tool from July 1st. The procedure is intended to measure the need for specialist and assistant nursing staff in individual nursing homes. Both are important, but must be financed, says Elsner. The contributors alone could not handle it.

Vdek calls for “care reform in one go”

Elsner called for a “care reform in one go”: “Financial reform in care is one of the priority tasks in 2023.” Proposals are on the table. “Care is one of the core social issues of the coming decades and deserves political attention.”

Politicians are also required to implement a judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court, said Elsner. This decided last year that parents with several children must be better off than smaller families and those without children when it comes to statutory long-term care insurance. The judges ordered the contribution to long-term care insurance to be adjusted to the number of children by the end of July.

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