The Federal Cabinet has approved a draft Long-Term Care Reorganization Act intended to stabilize long-term care insurance financially while maintaining reliable care and improving support for relatives. More than six million people in Germany already require care; without countermeasures, the projected deficit would be around €7.6 billion in 2027 and more than €15 billion in 2028. The draft includes local professional care guidance, a social-area budget for people with care level 2 or higher, a bridging budget for unexpected interruptions in informal care, bundled outpatient-care budgets and a digital “care cockpit.” It also proposes keeping the general contribution rate at 3.6% in the coming years, while changes to the contribution assessment ceiling, contributions for people without children, spouse co-insurance and mini-jobs could increase contributions for some insured people.
What does this mean in practice?
People requiring care and their relatives could receive earlier professional support at home and easier access to low-threshold assistance. Families caring for children, adolescents or young adults up to age 25 are to receive a higher budget, while a bridging budget for people with care level 2 or higher is intended to finance services when a caregiving person is unexpectedly unavailable. The general contribution rate is to remain at 3.6%, but individual contributions could rise because of other proposed changes. The changes are still part of a draft and do not yet apply.
Affected topics
- Work & pay