Amidst ongoing discussions regarding the reform of long-term care insurance, the Caritas issues a warning about potential increased burdens for people needing care and their family caregivers. Speaking to the media, Caritas President Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa stressed that any restructuring of institutional care must prevent a further escalation of financial responsibility for those requiring assistance.
A specific point of contention is the proposed adjustment to the self-payment period in care facilities. Currently, the discussion centers on lowering the threshold for co-payments only after 18 months of residency, up from the existing 12-month period. While this change would provide short-term cost savings for the care insurance, Welskop-Deffaa argues that it would permanently discredit the existing staged model of financial relief, a system already considered insufficient by many. Minister for Health Nina Warken (CDU) plans to introduce a draft for the care insurance reform in mid-May.
The Caritas president fears that these revisions create misplaced incentives. She warns that the new regulations could increase the incentive for individuals to bequeath existing assets to children and grandchildren before needing care, echoing advice frequently given by financial guides. Welskop-Deffaa stated that the loyalty of insured individuals to the system’s solidarity principles must not be jeopardized by such incentive effects.
Furthermore, she strongly advocated for measures designed to alleviate the load on family caregivers, noting that the vast majority of care provided still occurs within the family. It is critical, she emphasized, that the caregiving capacity of relatives must be protected. She specifically called for immunity to any deterioration concerning the free family coverage entitlement, the tiered contribution rates based on the number of children, and the provisions for covering pension contributions for family members providing care.
Concluding her remarks, Welskop-Deffaa highlighted that long-term care insurance is a partial benefit system heavily reliant on intergenerational solidarity within the family. She reminded the public of the Federal Constitutional Court’s repeated clarification that the “generative contribution”-the support provided by healthy family members-must be given greater weight in the care insurance scheme than in other segments of social security.