2,528 euros per month - Living in a care home is becoming more expensive - co-payments are rising
Care home residents in Lower Saxony, Germany, have to pay more out of pocket once again. On average, they pay 2,528 Euros per month in the first year in a care home, which is 137 Euros more than a year ago and around 600 Euros more than three years ago, according to calculations by the Association of German Welfare Institutions (vdek) as of July 1, 2022.
The costs for a place in a care home consist of several parts. The pension insurance only covers a part of the costs, unlike the health insurance. Residents also have to pay for accommodation, food, and investments in the institutions themselves. For the first time, training costs were included in the evaluation as of July 1, 2022, which are also passed on by the homes. This post was also included in the comparison values as of July 1, 2023.
The increases are also occurring nationwide.
Since 2022, in addition to the payments from the pension insurance, there have been special relief grants that were raised as part of a reform of the traffic light coalition on January 1, 2022. The co-payment for pure care will therefore be 15% instead of 5% in the first year in the home, 30% instead of 25% in the second year, 50% instead of 45% in the third year, and 75% instead of 70% from the fourth year onwards.
According to the calculations of the Association of German Welfare Institutions as of July 1, 2022, the average monthly cost for a place in a care home in Germany is 2,871 Euros. This is 211 Euros more than the middle of 2023. The Association of German Welfare Institutions includes, among others, the Techniker Health Insurance, Barmer, KKH Workers' Health Insurance, and DAK-Germany Health.
Ersatzkassenverband: Care home residents to be relieved
The Association spoke out in favor of a fundamental financing reform of the pension insurance at the federal level. "The goal must be to relieve care home residents," emphasized the leader of the Association of German Welfare Institutions in Lower Saxony, Hanno Kummer. A pension in this federal state no longer reaches the amount required for a care home place: "This means: Many people who have worked for decades are dependent on social welfare at the end of their lives." The background of the rising co-payments are mainly higher labor costs in care.
Kummer said: "It's about creating a solid financing basis as soon as possible and protecting care home residents from financial overburdening at the same time. In the short term, the state should take on the investment costs, just like for hospitals. The current costs for each care home resident in Lower Saxony for building maintenance and equipment amount to an average of 516 Euros per month." Currently, care home residents bear the costs for the maintenance of the buildings and the equipment. These currently amount to an average of 516 Euros per month per resident in Lower Saxony.
- Residents in Hanover, part of Lower Saxony, will once again have to make an additional payment for their care in nursing homes, as the average monthly cost has increased to 2,528 Euros in the first year, a significant rise from previous years.
- The German Press Agency reported that, due to higher labor costs in care, care home residents in Lower Saxony are now responsible for paying an average of 516 Euros per month for building maintenance and equipment, a burden that was previously shouldered by the residents themselves.
- In response to the rising costs, Hanno Kummer, the leader of the Association of German Welfare Institutions in Lower Saxony, advocated for a fundamental financing reform of the pension insurance at the federal level, aiming to alleviate the financial burden on care home residents and create a solid financing basis.
