Overview
- The Sozialverband VdK publicly recommended on Tuesday that anyone who has not yet applied for a Pflegegrad should submit an Erstantrag by December 31, 2026 so the case is assessed under today’s rules.
- A draft Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz prepared by the federal government would narrow the criteria used in new Pflegebegutachtungen and is expected to apply to fresh assessments from around January 1, 2027 if enacted.
- The VdK cites IGES calculations estimating the draft could leave about 123,000 people a year without any Pflegegrad and lower the grade for roughly 155,000 more, reducing access to care benefits for many.
- The VdK warns that its advice applies only to first‑time applications and cautions people with an existing Pflegegrad against requesting a Neubegutachtung for Höherstufung without careful review, because a new assessment can also trigger a Rückstufung.
- The health ministry frames the reform as a measure to stabilize Pflegeversicherung finances, but the draft has not been passed and could change in the parliamentary process, while pressure from rising care needs (over six million people now classified as needing care) underlies the debate.