Because of rising care tariffs and inflation, the personal share that residents must pay for a nursing‑home place has climbed sharply. According to recent figures from the AOK National Association – reported by the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” newspapers – the amount that care‑dependent people have to cover out of pocket in the first year of their stay increased by €112 between June and the end of December 2025, reaching a monthly average of €3,204.
There remain large regional differences. The highest personal contributions hit €3,528 in North Rhine‑Westphalia, while the lowest were €2,661 in Saxony‑Anhalt. Factoring in payments from the care insurance, the overall cost of a nursing‑home spot nationwide is now €5,033, up from €4,715 at the end of 2024.
Carola Reimann, chair of the AOK National Association, called on Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) to honour her pledge and to address the rising out‑of‑pocket costs through the forthcoming care reform. “During the upcoming nursing reform, we need to adjust several levers to effectively cap the shared costs for residents in full‑time care facilities” Reimann told the RND.
She highlighted a key problem: residents are forced to make up for gaps in state financing of investment costs for nursing homes. “If the Länder fulfil their obligations for construction and maintenance, we could achieve a substantial relief for the residents’ out‑of‑pocket shares” she argued. Reimann also demanded that education costs be removed from the personal contribution, an adjustment that would free around €1 billion for care‑dependent people.
