More and more residents in nursing homes are unable to cover their individual contributions and must rely on social assistance.
According to an unpublished DAK insurance study reported by the “Rheinische Post” on Thursday, the share of residents who receive social support will reach a new high of 37 % by 2026. The proportion is expected to climb to 40.4 % in 2032 and, without any restraint, approach 43 % by 2035.
Across Germany, 309,000 residents currently receive what the municipalities call “help for care”. The study predicts that this figure could increase by 15 %-to about 356,000 people-within the next nine years. The research was commissioned by DAK and carried out by Bremen health economist Heinz Rothgang.
DAK board member Andreas Storm warned that institutional care is increasingly becoming a concrete poverty trap. “With the current 37 % social assistance rate we are at the limit; we cannot allow further increases” he said to the editor. “Confidence in the social care insurance is eroding, and a caregiving collapse is imminent”. Storm called for a broader nursing reform that caps residents’ out‑of‑pocket expenses. “We need a fresh financing mix and a fair distribution of costs among contributors, care recipients and taxpayers”.
The study suggests that capping individual contributions to a maximal monthly amount of €1,000 or €1,200 would ease the burden. Under such a ceiling, the social assistance rate would remain between 32 % and 37 % even in 2035.