The care reform passed shortly before the summer break had two main goals: It was intended to ensure better pay for care workers and, at the same time, to relieve the financial burden on care home residents and their families.
In fact, however, the already high home costs from the last average of 2125 euros per month are likely to continue to rise - and with it the proportion of those in need of care who are dependent on social assistance.
This is the result of a new study by the Bremen care economist Heinz Rothgang for the health insurance company DAK.
Britta Beeger
Editor in business.
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Using model calculations, the study shows that the current around 819,000 inpatient care recipients in Germany will only receive short-term financial relief from the reform.
The background to this is that, from 2022, the long-term care fund will pay a subsidy to the pure care costs averaging 873 euros a month: 5 percent in the first year, 25 percent in the second year, 45 percent in the third year and then 70 percent.
In contrast to what was originally intended by the Federal Ministry of Health, the amount that residents have to pay for care is not capped.
If the costs rise, so do the own contributions - growth is only slowed down by the subsidy.
In addition, there are the costs for accommodation and meals as well as an allocation for investments.
The costs are increasing
According to the calculations for the DAK, the proportion of nursing home residents who are dependent on the social benefit “help for care” will initially rise to 34.8 percent this year, the highest figure since the introduction of social long-term care insurance. In the coming year, it should initially fall significantly due to the financial subsidy, but then rise again quickly.
Because the reform of Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) also ensures significantly higher costs, since the home providers are obliged to pay the nursing staff according to the collective wage. In addition, a nationwide personnel key was agreed which enables the homes to hire additional nurses. And up to 13,000 specialist positions and up to 20,000 auxiliary positions are also to be financed in the future via the so-called care rate, which affects the residents' own contributions.
The result: as early as 2024, two years after the introduction of the performance supplements, the social assistance quota from 2019 will be exceeded again - which, as nursing economist Rothgang writes, was rated by politicians as too high and provided a major impetus for the reform.
At the same time, according to his analysis, the own shares are likely to decrease briefly at the beginning of next year, but increase in their absolute level over time.
The overall financial burden on those in need of care will ultimately increase as a result of the reform, the author sums up.
Only the social assistance providers, i.e. the municipalities, would be relieved.
DAK boss: Developments alarming
DAK CEO Andreas Storm was concerned about the results. "The developments in long-term care insurance are alarming," he said. Despite the most recent reform, the long-term care insurance could “increasingly less than meet” its own claim to prevent care-related social assistance dependency. Targeted provision is still not possible because no one can predict how high the own contributions will be in the future. Storm warned that the future federal government must initiate a fundamental reform in the first half of the coming electoral term.
The Association of Substitute Health Insurance Funds recently expressed concern about rising home costs. CEO Ulrike Elsner said that if the development continues, “more and more people will be dependent on social assistance benefits because they can no longer pay the costs themselves”. It is important to noticeably relieve those in need of care and to secure long-term financing.