Own shares increase – the first health insurers need state aid

Nursing costs

Almost 3,000 euros for a home place – your own shares rise

The nursing costs for home places in Germany continue to rise rapidly. At the same time, some health insurance companies could be dependent on financial help for the first time.

Persons in need of care and their relatives have to dig deeper into their pockets for a home place. As an evaluation of the replacement health insurance association shows, the shares to be paid further for those in need of care have continued to increase.

For the first year in the home, the self -employment was 2,984 euros on a national average in early 2025 – that is around 300 euros more than in the previous year. Regionally, self-employment differs by several hundred euros: most affected people in Bremen (3,456 euros), least in Saxony-Anhalt (2,443 euros). You can find an overview of all federal states here.

The Association of Replacements (VDEK), which includes the technician health insurance company, the Barmer and DAK health, speaks of a “constant upward trend”. Neither the surcharges paid by the long -term care insurance company nor the increase in care services at the beginning of the year could have slowed them down.

Poster services include, for example, care services, i.e. the funds for professional home help for care, care and household services in a home environment. These rose to 2,299 euros at the highest level of care. The amount for fully inpatient care also rose at degree 5 from 2.005 to 2,096 euros. Overall, the care services were raised by 4.5 percent in January 1.

The contribution rate of long -term care insurance has also increased at the turn of the year, by 0.2 percentage points. The contribution rate ranges from 2.6 percent for people with five children or more up to 4.2 percent for someone without children. For a member of the cash register with a child, he is 3.6 percent. Read here what the increased care contribution for your salary means.

• Read too: Who pays the nursing home if the pension is not enough?
• Depending on the level of care: The care allowance 2025 increases as much

A good two weeks before the Bundestag election, VDEK chairman Ulrike Elsner asked the competing parties to keep word. If you then rule, you have to keep the care reliably and affordable. People’s burdens are “too high”, the personal participation is clearly limited.

For this purpose, Elsner asked the countries, among other things, for the full financing of the construction and maintenance of the homes. The head of the association sharply criticized the practice of transferring the costs to those in need of care. The federal states had only paid 876 million euros for this area in 2022, the people in need of care around 4.4 billion euros.

A cover of these posts by the federal states alone would relieve those in need of care according to VDEK calculation by an average of 498 euros a month. In general, however, the benefits would have to be dynamized annually and geared towards economic parameters.

In contrast to health insurance, long -term care insurance only bears part of the costs incurred. The majority of the costs to be borne by the residents are the own contribution to pure care costs. In addition, there are still costs for accommodation, meals and investments in the homes for those affected.

• Read too: Do children have to pay for the care of their parents?

The own contribution for the nursing costs alone was around 1,760 euros in the national average. The grants staggered after the length of stay are off. The traffic lights in 2024 had increased this relief surcharge introduced in 2022. In addition to the actual payments of the long -term care insurance fund, the self -proportion of pure care has been pressed by 15 instead of 5 percent in the first year, in the second 30 instead of 25 percent, in the third by 50 instead of 50 45 percent and from 75 percent from the fourth year.

Experts have been calling for further reforms in the care system for years. The background is the increasing number of those in need of care. In December 2023, almost 5.7 million people were in need of care in Germany – after almost 5 million in December 2021.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the strong increase was, among other things, on the effects of a reform in 2017. Since then, people have been classified as need of care than before, such as dementia patients. Almost nine out of ten people in need of care are cared for at home. The number of people in need of care in homes rose slightly by 6,000 to just under 800,000 from December 2021 to 2023.

Demographic change also helps to ensure that the pressure on long -term care insurance increases. With the entry of the Babyboomer years into retirement, this is likely to worsen further. According to the MDR, the top association of statutory health insurance companies (GKV) only expects a “small minus” of 300 million euros for this year, but it expects major financial problems for 2026.