Overview
- The cabinet has passed a Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz to stabilise funding and reorder benefits, and the bill will be debated in the Bundestag as a short‑term fix.
- Health Minister Carsten Linnemann told the Handelsblatt on Thursday that the system needs about ten percent in savings and he did not rule out cuts to care‑insurance benefits.
- Planned changes taking effect in 2027–2029 include a childless surcharge rising from 0.6 to 0.9 percentage points on 1 January 2027 and a 0.52 percentage‑point charge for some family‑insured spouses from 2028.
- The draft removes the €131 monthly Entlastungsbetrag for care grade 1 while expanding care guidance, bundles and raises cash and outpatient benefits for grades 2–5, and creates a Sozialraumbudget that can reach €300 a month for families with care‑dependent children to age 25.
- Social and patient groups warn that cuts would hurt vulnerable people and relatives while economists such as DIW say targeted ten percent savings are feasible if low‑income groups are protected; an expert Pflegestrukturkommission must deliver further options by end‑January 2027.