/Anke Thomass, stock.adobe.com
Berlin – Those in need of care at home are having to dig deeper and deeper into their own pockets. As the Association of Replacement Funds (vdek) announced today in Berlin, the contribution that residents themselves have to pay has increased again.
From 1 July, those receiving care will pay a monthly personal contribution of €2,871 for the first year of their stay. This is €211 more than the previous year. In the second year of their stay, the monthly contribution is now €2,620, an increase of €233.
In the third year of stay, an additional payment of 2,284 euros will have to be made – 169 euros more than in the previous year. From the fourth year of stay onwards, the national average contribution is currently 1,865 euros per month. This corresponds to an increase of 91 euros.
The personal contribution borne by those in need of care is made up of three components: the cost of accommodation and food (national average of €955/month), investment costs (€490/month) and the cost of all equipment (personal contribution). It mainly includes costs for nursing staff (national average of €1,678/month).
The fact that the personal contribution decreases as the length of stay increases is due to the subsidies that the nursing care insurance fund adds to the EEE as a cost containment measure.
The allowances currently amount to 15 percent of EEE payable in the first year of residence, 30 percent in the second year of residence, 50 percent in the third year of residence and 75 percent of EEE payable from the fourth year of residence onwards. The allowances were increased by five percent at the beginning of the year and up to ten percent in the first year of residence.
“The financial contribution for those in need of care in nursing homes continues to increase,” said vdek board chairwoman Ulrike Elsner. “The fact that this figure is so high is also due to the fact that countries are ignoring their responsibilities. Taking on only the investment costs, as provided for by law, would save residents an average of 490 euros per month.”
It is also the state’s responsibility to cover the costs of training. The fact that these costs are cross-financed proportionally by nursing home residents is not a fair distribution of the burden, says Elsner. Training is a task for society as a whole and should be paid for through tax revenues. Especially since it is not even certain that the trainees will work in the nursing home.
“The traffic light factions agreed in the coalition agreement to eliminate this injustice. We hope that this promise will be fulfilled as part of the comprehensive health care reform announced by Minister Lauterbach. This would bring, for example, an additional financial relief of 112 euros on average per month for those who need care in nursing homes in the first year of their stay. © kna/aerzteblatt.de