Overview
- An analysis by the Verband der Ersatzkassen (vdek) with a cut‑off of 1 July shows the average first‑year resident co‑payment is €3,364 per month, up €256 year‑on‑year and €119 since January.
- The main cause of the rise is higher personnel costs, driven in part by a 2022 rule that homes must pay tariff or equivalent wages to contract with Pflegekassen, which has pushed the base care charge up sharply.
- Health Minister Nina Warken’s Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz (PNOG) draft would slow the schedule of rising insurance subsidies — from 12 to 18 months between steps — a change the ministry says would save about €2.6 billion for 2027 while also raising revenue through measures such as a higher childless surcharge and contributions on minijobs.
- The vdek and patient groups point to wide regional gaps — Bremen and Saarland have the highest average burdens while Saxony‑Anhalt is lowest — and urge that Länder pay facility investment and training costs, a shift the vdek says would cut residents’ bills by about €649 per month on average.
- If residents cannot pay, they must apply for municipal social assistance (‘Hilfe zur Pflege’) after depleting assets, a process that delays support and could drive higher local budgets, which has fuelled criticism of the PNOG from patient advocates and several state governments.