questions and answers
Is our nursing care insurance at risk of bankruptcy? An overview
Karl Lauterbach had announced another nursing care reform in view of the tense financial situation star Further premium increases in nursing care insurance are also indicated for 2025
© Kay Nietfeld / DPA
Nursing care insurance is in financial trouble. Health Minister Lauterbach is currently working on a reform. When will the next premium increase come?
What is the current status of nursing care insurance?
Is bankruptcy imminent?
According to the RND, the traffic light coalition is working feverishly on an emergency operation. Citing coalition circles, the report states that there is a risk of insolvency. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Health, led by Karl Lauterbach, reacted and said that he could not confirm the report in this form.
How could this happen?
Lauterbach has emphasized several times in the recent past that nursing care insurance has both short-term and structural difficulties. “There are essentially three reasons for this: With the recent care reform, we have significantly relieved the burden on those in need of care in homes, care workers receive higher wages, and there are more people in need of care than expected.”
What’s next?
According to a ministry spokesman, Karl Lauterbach will soon present a concept for the nursing care insurance, which is in great financial difficulty. The spokesman told the German Press Agency (DPA) that this should put the insurance company back on a more stable footing in both the short and long term.
Lauterbach had announced another care reform in view of the tense financial situation and at the end of August star Further premium increases in health and nursing care insurance are also indicated for 2025. The coalition had already implemented an initial reform. It brought relief for those in need of care with personal contributions, but also a higher contribution: for people without children it rose to 4 percent in mid-2023 and to 3.4 percent for contributors with one child. Families with at least two children now pay less – based on the employee share – than before.
How high will the contribution rate increase in the future?
There is currently a general contribution rate of 3.4 percent for nursing care insurance, those without children pay four percent, and there are discounts for families with more than one child under 25. According to the RND report, a premium increase of 0.3 points for nursing care insurance would be in addition to the expected increase of 0.7 percentage points for health insurance. This means that social contributions could rise more sharply at the beginning of 2025 than they have in more than 20 years.
Sources: RNDDPA, AFP