Warken wants to be realistic: nursing care insurance remains partial coverage

Berlin. This won't be a walk in the park: On Monday (July 7), the federal-state working group on the reform of the social long-term care insurance (SPV) will begin. There are many areas for reform, as well as proposals for them.

Just last Thursday, the PKV Association came forward with a 10-point plan . One proposal: more incentives for private and occupational pension provision – in addition to the current contribution-financed pay-as-you-go system.

On Friday, Federal Health Minister Nina Warken clarified that statutory long-term care insurance will continue to cover only a portion of care costs. "Long-term care insurance remains a partial insurance policy. Promising more would be unrealistic," the CDU politician told the Funke Media Group.

Warken: Politics must find ways

Warken also stated that new services will not be possible. Nevertheless, policymakers must find ways to ensure that nursing home care remains affordable, that people can make private provisions for the need for care, and that more home care is possible.

Social welfare organizations and trade unions have recently repeatedly pushed for the introduction of a solidarity-based comprehensive long-term care insurance scheme. This would cover all care-related costs and is supported by a majority of German citizens.

The federal-state working group is to develop a plan by the end of the year on how to keep care affordable and effective. They are putting long-term care insurance "on the back burner," Warken said. After the turn of the year, the plan will be passed into law. Currently, around 5.6 million people receive benefits from the long-term care insurance system, and the trend is rising.

Nursing care funds: There is a lot at stake

The long-term care insurance funds increased the pressure ahead of the meeting of the federal-state working group. "The need for reform in social long-term care insurance is enormous, and the task of the federal-state working group is anything but simple. A lot is at stake," said Dr. Carola Reimann, Chair of the Board of the AOK Federal Association.

The federal government's current budget planning falls far short of the necessary resources to restructure nursing care finances. Instead of an "inadequate" loan—planned for €500 million this year and €1.5 billion next year —a swift reimbursement of pandemic costs is needed, Reimann said. The nursing care insurance funds estimate the expenses from the coronavirus period at over €5 billion.

Reimann: Loans are not enough

In the medium term, structural reforms are needed, according to the AOK head. "To overcome the challenges of demographic change, it is crucial that the individual needs of people in need of care and their families and relatives are brought into focus." What is needed is a simpler and more flexible benefit law and more counseling.

Kathrin Sonnenholzner, president of the welfare association AWO, stated that long-term care insurance must be placed on a sustainable, financially secure footing. "To achieve this, all professional groups and income levels must contribute to the insurance, and the contribution assessment ceiling must be raised."

Anyone who wants to benefit from heirs must introduce an inheritance tax to refinance federal subsidies for long-term care insurance, Sonnenholzner said. Federal and state representatives plan to present the results of their first meeting on long-term care reform at a press conference on Monday afternoon. (hom/dpa)