Overview
- GKV data show Pflegegrad 1 cost about €640 million in 2024, far below the widely cited €1.8 billion based on full take-up assumptions.
- The FAZ reports the government working group is weighing benefit cutbacks rather than a full abolition, with preliminary proposals expected in mid‑October.
- Senior SPD figures reject cutting benefits, while CDU voices including NRW minister Karl‑Josef Laumann call for a reassessment of the grade.
- About 861,000 people are in Pflegegrad 1, which offers a €131 monthly relief allowance plus limited subsidies for care aids and home modifications.
- Unions, social associations and experts warn reductions would burden family carers and risk higher downstream costs, as the coalition seeks to close a 2026 funding gap of roughly €2 billion without raising contribution rates.