Andreas Storm, the head of the DAK health insurance provider, has urged Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) to reconsider her planned care reform. Speaking to the “Tagesspiegel”, Storm called on the federal government to immediately cease what he described as a “palliative clearance” in care policy and instead initiate a new approach to reform.
The urgency stems from the fact that, without reform, the social care insurance is projected to run a deficit exceeding 22 billion euros over the next two years. Consequently, Warken announced her intention to present a savings package by mid-May. However, key elements of her proposal have already surfaced, including plans to cut subsidies intended for institutional care. Last week, the Minister suggested a method of “stretching” the granting of these subsidies.
A care expert from the University of Bremen, Heinz Rothgang, calculated the resulting additional burden for residents living in care homes. According to his expert report, residents’ out-of-pocket contributions would increase by an average of 161 euros per month, accumulating to nearly 20,000 euros over four and a half years.
Currently, residents pay an average contribution of 3,200 euros monthly, though this amount is offset by subsidies that progressively increase with the duration of stay. Under the present system, residents receive 15% reimbursement in the first year, 30% in the second, 50% in the third, and 70% from the care insurance starting in the fourth year. Rothgang’s calculations are based on a scenario reported by the “RND”, which indicates that the Ministry of Health would delay the first increase in subsidies until 18 months, the second until three years, and the maximum 70% funding level only after four and a half years.
Storm also anticipates that Warken may propose halving the pension entitlements for relatives who provide care. He warned that such measures would cause the “poverty risk in care to escalate further” arguing that these combined actions would not solve the care crisis but would instead severely exacerbate it.