Federal Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) announced improvements to the draft care reform bill in the Bundestag on Thursday. “We want to improve the bill,” the minister said at the first reading, as reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung. At the same time, he insisted on keeping to the planned savings volume. According to ZDFheute, talks with the coalition parliamentary groups are already under way.
On Thursday, 5 November, the Bundestag held its first debate on the so-called Care Reorganisation Act, with which the federal government intends to close the billions-strong hole in long-term care insurance. The cabinet has already adopted the draft. Following the debate, the health committee and other committees will now examine the text; the Bundesrat can also formulate requests for amendments, as the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports.
What Linnemann specifically wants to change
Many people in need of care and their relatives are concerned about the concrete changeover in benefits such as respite care, Linnemann said according to ZDFheute. Under this scheme, others step in when the actual carer is temporarily unavailable. It is “essential that we do not overwhelm those affected,” the minister said. The aim is to make this fairer. At the turn of the year, when key parts are due to take effect, there must “not be hard breaks”.
The minister leaves open how far the improvements will go. One thing is clear: according to him, the savings volume is not to be touched. Linnemann spoke according to ZDFheute of “first aid”, without which long-term care insurance would face a deficit of around eight billion euros in 2027. The umbrella association of statutory health insurers expects a deficit of 4.4 billion euros for this year.
Resistance to scrapping respite care
In the debate, which was at times emotional, as the Süddeutsche Zeitung describes the deliberations, criticism came above all from within the coalition’s own ranks. SPD parliamentary group deputy leader Dagmar Schmidt said nobody could ignore the financial situation of the care funds. But a reform of benefits must “not mean that they are cut”. The discussions of recent months had frightened many of those affected. Schmidt spoke out explicitly against the planned abolition of respite care as a separate benefit.
Green health politician Simone Fischer expressly welcomed this, according to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. She too said: “Cutting is not reform”. According to ZDFheute, Fischer also criticised that despite planned cuts “a billion-euro gap” would remain. AfD health politician Nicole Hess accused Linnemann of meaning “higher hurdles, fewer supports and additional burdens” for caring relatives. The Left party’s parliamentary group deputy leader Luigi Pantisano called for more money for caring relatives “so that they do not collapse”.
What is to change for insured persons
The regular care contribution remains unchanged under the draft. For people without children, however, the contribution surcharge is to rise from 0.6 to 0.9 percentage points. The contribution-free co-insurance of spouses without significant income of their own is to be restricted: from 2028, this group is to pay a contribution of 0.52 percent on the partner’s contributory income, as ZDFheute reports. In future, care contributions are also to be levied on mini-jobs, and the contribution assessment ceiling is to rise by 300 euros a month.
On the benefits side, the hurdles for classification into care levels 1 to 3 are rising. Anyone classified before the new law comes into force keeps their care level. For care level 1, the relief amount of 131 euros a month is to be abolished; part of the money is to go into care guidance, which is due to start in 2029. In home care, individual benefits are to be bundled into budgets, and from 2028 a short-term stay in a home is planned within the framework of a bridging budget. From 2029, the benefit amounts are to be adjusted annually for inflation. The care funds’ subsidies towards the care-related personal contribution in a home will continue to rise in stages from 15 percent in the first year to 75 percent after 36 months.
The pension cuts for carers initially considered are not to be implemented. Further-reaching reforms had been delegated by the Union and SPD to an expert commission. According to Linnemann, its recommendations are to be adopted by the cabinet, if possible before Easter.
Earlier coverage: Bundestag debates first care reform as €7.5bn gap looms
