VdK calls for changes to Germany’s care reform — Der Spiegel

In Germany, the VdK social association has called on the federal government to revise the planned reform of the care system. The organization believes that the new procedure for allocating funds could make access to necessary assistance more difficult and create an additional burden for relatives caring for loved ones.

As Der Spiegel reports, VdK president Verena Bentele said that people who care for relatives need simplifications and greater support. According to her, they should not be forced to care for loved ones to the point of exhaustion because of a funding shortage in the long-term care insurance system.

Combining benefits into shared budgets

The planned reform is intended to stabilize contributions to the long-term care insurance system. To achieve this, various types of benefits are to be combined into shared budgets. At the same time, VdK warns that a rigid division into four separate budgets could force people in need of care to pay for part of the necessary services out of their own pocket if the relevant budget is exhausted.

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Bentele noted that the new model will require some people to change their already established care arrangements. For example, a person cannot always rely on help from a neighbor if funds for a professional care service have already been spent. At the same time, not everyone needs a more expensive professional service, but people may be forced to use one if the budget for another type of support has been exhausted.

Demand to repay funds from the pandemic period

VdK also demands that 5.2 billion euros in so-called debts from the COVID-19 pandemic period be returned to the long-term care insurance system. This concerns additional services that insurance funds financed during the pandemic but that, according to the organization, the federal government did not reimburse.

In addition, the social association advocates for a single long-term care insurance system to which all citizens would pay contributions. In VdK’s view, the government must ensure sufficient funding for the system rather than reduce the level of support for people in need of care.