The rising cost of personal contributions towards long-term care in Germany is prompting calls for legislative action to ensure the sustainability of the care insurance system. Heinz Rothgang, a health economist at the University of Bremen, has voiced “urgent need for action” from policymakers, emphasizing the necessity of making the system future-proof.
According to Rothgang, speaking to the Mediengruppe Bayern, a significant 70% of individuals requiring long-term care are unable to cover the associated personal contributions from their retirement income. This situation, he argues, is undermining the insurance system’s fundamental purpose of preventing poverty linked to care needs. He urged lawmakers to intervene directly.
Rothgang identified a dual financing challenge as the core impediment to long-term reform, necessitating a twofold response. He proposed a combination of capping personal contributions for care recipients and exploring new sources of funding for the care insurance system to strengthen its viability.
Beyond adjusting financing, the economist suggested exploring potential adjustments to care benefits. Options could include reducing benefits for individuals in lower care need categories (such as Grade 1) or modifying the criteria used in care assessments to potentially reduce the number of newly classified care recipients.
Furthermore, Rothgang proposed a potential shift in the allocation of care funds. Currently, direct payments are made to care recipients without specific stipulations for use. He suggested that redirecting these funds directly to caregivers, coupled with tying these payments to specific care-related expenses, could yield considerable savings.