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The federal Minister of Health, Jens Spahn (CDU), wants to economically relieve those who need care and their families with a legal reform. His plan meets the goodwill of the coalition partner, but also criticism. SPD Secretary General Lars Klingbeil described the planned limitation of personal contribution for hospital care in the newspaper “Bild” as “long overdue”.
However, the proposal contained “a typical conservative miscalculation”, as it had not taken into account “that those with high incomes and wealth can do more.” Therefore, Klingbeil called for revenue to be factored more into costs of care.
Spahn had told “Bild am Sonntag” that he wanted to limit the copayment for hospital care in the course of planned care reform. “My suggestion is that home residents pay a maximum of 700 euros per month for hospital care for up to 36 months,” he said. “That would be a maximum of 25,200 euros.” This own participation is “calculable”.
More recently, the personal contribution for pure care was 786 euros on average. Plus additional costs, for example, accommodation, meals and investments in homes, a total of 2015 euros per month is owed on average nationwide, according to data from the Association of Substitute Funds (as of July 1).
The left criticized Spahn’s reform plans as inadequate. What the health minister is proposing is “at best a small reform,” said Dietmar Bartsch, chairman of the left-wing parliamentary group in the Bundestag, of the “Germany publishing network.” This should be “just the first step”. Hundreds of thousands of nursing home residents and their families expected cost reductions. The nursing home should no longer become a “poverty trap”. Therefore, the costs of care should be significantly lower than pensions.
Spahn expects his nursing reform, which also provides for better pay for nurses, will cost a total of around six billion euros a year. According to his ideas, this should be financed from the federal budget, that is, from tax revenues. The FDP warns of tax increases in light of the plans. “Soon they threaten us with careful solos,” said FDP parliamentary group lead deputy Christian Dürr of the newspaper “Bild”. “It is hardly possible to limit contributions without massive tax increases.”
