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The costs for people in need of care continue to rise. Health Minister Spahn now plans to limit the copayment for hospital care. He also wants to enforce better pay for caregivers in the course of care reform.
Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn wants to limit the copayment for hospital care as part of planned care reform. “My suggestion is that residents in the home pay a maximum of 700 euros per month for hospital care for up to 36 months,” Spahn of “Bild am Sonntag” said. “That would be a maximum of 25,200 euros. Even then, long-term care insurance is still partial comprehensive insurance.
Spahn justified the planned cap with rising costs. Since 2017, the monthly contribution for hospital care has increased by an average of 238 euros. This is “becoming a problem for more and more families,” the minister said. “People in need of care and their families need security in planning. We can do this by limiting their own contribution.”
Own contribution is an average of 2015 euros
In general, people in need of care have to contribute more and more out of their own pockets for home care. The national average expires for the last time in 2015 euros per month, according to data from the Association of Substitute Funds. However, there are important regional differences. On the one hand, the amounts include the copayment for pure care. Because, unlike health insurance, long-term care insurance only covers part of the costs.
For residents in the home, there are also costs for accommodation, meals and investments in the homes. Costs are increasing on all fronts. For example, the purely assistance personal contribution has recently increased by a national average to 786 euros per month.
Pay employees according to rate
Spahn wants to restart the debate on fundamental care reform this fall. She also wants nursing homes to pay their employees better: “Care must be paid at least according to the rate,” said the minister of “Bild am Sonntag”. Therefore, he suggests: “To be able to account for services with long-term care insurance, a residence or care service must pay employees according to the rate in the future.” The basis could be a house or a branch collective agreement.
For hundreds of thousands of nurses, this means significantly higher wages: “Due to a shortage of skilled workers, nurses have more influence in collective bargaining.” In 2018, only 40 percent of nursing homes paid their employees according to the rate, compared to just 26 percent for outpatient services. Spahn said: “Vacation entitlements and special payments are also significantly lower than appropriate. That needs to change.”
The healthcare reform costs six billion euros a year
According to Spahn, the health care reform will cost around six billion euros a year. “You can roughly say that the limit of your own contributions amounts to around three billion euros, better remuneration for nurses around two billion and home care services around one billion.” Spahn would like to finance her reform with a grant from the federal budget.
