Overview
- The Bundeskabinett approved the Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz to stabilise care insurance finances and the bill moves into Bundestag debate next week for possible changes before Bundesrat review.
- Key cost measures include raising the childless surcharge from 0.6 to 0.9 percentage points and increasing the income threshold that makes more wages subject to care contributions.
- The proposal removes the €131 monthly Entlastungsbetrag for Pflegegrad 1, bundles home-care cash and in-kind benefits for grades 2–5, and creates new local budgets such as a Sozialraumbudget and an Überbrückungsbudget.
- Care providers and industry groups warn the draft focuses on savings, risks weakening ambulatory services and would cut familiar reliefs such as parts of Verhinderungspflege, which could reduce local care options.
- Official statistics show rising pressure on the system with more people relying on social assistance for care in states like Sachsen-Anhalt and growing ambulatory caseloads in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, and a structure commission will deliver further reform options by January 2027.