According to a new evaluation by the Association of Substitute Funds (vdek), nursing home residents no longer have to shell out the highest personal contributions in North Rhine-Westphalia. According to this, on July 1st in NRW in the first year in the home 2540 euros per month had to be paid out of pocket. A subsidy from the long-term care insurance fund introduced at the beginning of the year for pure care and support is already included. On January 1st, NRW led the list with a personal contribution of 2496 euros – also including a subsidy. Now it is Baden-Württemberg (2555).
For residents of the home, there are also costs for accommodation, meals and also for investments in the facilities. According to the analysis, accommodation and meals alone have to be paid the most nationwide in NRW at 1085 euros per month.
The new relief surcharge increases with the duration of care: The personal contribution for pure care should fall by 5 percent in the first year in the home, by 25 percent in the second, by 45 percent in the third, and by 70 percent from the fourth year.
However, the grants only partially cushion the financial burden on nursing home residents and their families. For example, on July 1st in the first year in the home, a nationwide average of 2,200 euros per month was due out of pocket and thus 67 euros more than on January 1st, as the vdek evaluation showed. Without grants it would have been 2248 euros. The reasons for the cost increases, which are also reflected in the figures for longer stays, are higher wages and higher living and energy costs, the association explained.
As can be seen from data for insured persons from the substitute funds from 2021, almost a third of those in need of care (30.2 percent) have been in a nursing home for less than a year. According to this, 19.2 percent of the residents have been in the home for one to two years, 14.1 percent for two to three years and 36.2 percent for more than three years.
"With such high personal contributions, the need for care remains a risk of poverty," said the head of the Association of Substitute Funds, Ulrike Elsner, of the German Press Agency in Berlin. A sustainable political solution to the problem is urgently needed. The federal states are also responsible for finally taking over the investment costs for care facilities. This would currently relieve those in need of care by an average of 469 euros per month.
According to the information, remuneration agreements between the long-term care insurance funds and the homes in all federal states were evaluated for the analysis. The data refer to residents with care grades 2 to 5.
