In view of the ever-increasing costs of care, there should be relief for millions of people in need of care – but also higher care contributions.
The Federal Cabinet launched a bill by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). Accordingly, the general care contribution is to be increased by 0.35 to 0.6 points on July 1st. Now it is 3.05 percent, for people without children it is 3.4 percent. For families with two or more children, there should be relief. Those in need of care at home and in the home are to receive financial improvements at the beginning of 2024. The cabinet also approved a draft that is intended to more effectively secure drug deliveries against bottlenecks.
Lauterbach said on the care reform that those in need of care deserve full solidarity. “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 being cared for and their relatives.” At the same time, it is important to stabilize the financing of care.
Nursing allowance is to increase by five percent
According to the draft, the nursing allowance, which was last increased in 2017, should increase by five percent on January 1, 2024, as should the amounts for benefits in kind. 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 supervision. Depending on the level of care, it is between 316 and 901 euros per month.
Relief surcharges introduced in 2022 are also to be increased for residents of homes on January 1, 2024. This should reduce the personal contribution for pure care in the first year in the home by 15 instead of the previous 5 percent, in the second by 30 instead of 25 percent, in the third by 50 instead of 45 percent and from the fourth year by 75 instead of 70 percent. The background to this is that nursing care insurance – unlike health insurance – only bears part of the costs for pure nursing care. In the home, there are also payments for accommodation, food and investments in the facilities.
More differences depending on the number of children
According to a judgment by the Federal Constitutional Court, the contribution will in future also be more 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. This increases the contribution for childless people to a total of 4 percent and for members with one child to 3.4 percent. The employer’s contribution is to increase from the current 1.525 percent to 1.7 percent.
For larger families, it should be regulated in such a way that they pay less than the current employee share of 1.525 percent during the upbringing phase of the child up to the age of 25. From two children, this should therefore be 1.45 percent in the future and be further reduced as the number of children increases – down to 0.7 percent for long-term care insurance members with five or more children.
Measures against drug shortages
The cabinet also approved a draft law for stronger security of drug deliveries. In order to avoid bottlenecks in important preparations, Lauterbach is planning new price rules that are intended to make deliveries to Germany more attractive for manufacturers. In addition, European producers should generally be given more attention and stockpiling should be regulated as a safety buffer. There have recently been delivery bottlenecks for off-patent medicines such as fever syrups for children, as well as for antibiotics and cancer medicines.
