Nearly half of residents in nursing homes-roughly 44 percent-rely on social assistance. According to figures from the Federal Statistical Office, sourced by the Alliance for Social Justice and Economic Reason (BSW) and reported by “Stern”, about 353,575 of the roughly 800,000 residents will be receiving social benefits in 2024. This represents an increase of 19,000 recipients compared to the previous year, when 334,515 residents were supported.
Sahra Wagenknecht, founder of BSW, told a news magazine that nursing homes are becoming increasingly “a poverty trap”. She added that the required co‑payments are bordering on the confiscation of benefits for older generations.
Wagenknecht is calling for a “nursing‑care cost cap” set at 1,000 euros, insisting that the co‑payments should never exceed the average pensions of the residents.
