Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) advocates for greater support of private long-term care provisioning. Speaking to the newspapers of the “Funke-Mediengruppe,” she stated that the goal should be to make obtaining supplementary private care insurance more attractive. Warken suggested that making contributions tax-deductible as precautionary expenses is one way to achieve this, adding that this measure would need to be discussed within the federal government.
Her comments are related to her upcoming care reform. She emphasized that the plan is not intended to shift the financial challenges of the care insurance system onto towns and municipalities. “The aim is not simply to push our financial difficulties of the care insurance onto the local authorities,” she cautioned. Consequently, the legislative draft includes measures designed to alleviate the burden, but she maintains that private provisions must become a stronger component of care financing in the future.
This push comes in response to the widening financial gap in the social care insurance system. The mandatory insurance frequently covers only a fraction of the actual costs associated with needing care. This is particularly true for institutional care, where affected individuals and their relatives often face significant out-of-pocket expenses. Additional private care insurance products are intended to help bridge this financial gap during a care crisis.
Currently, several voluntary options are available for private coverage against care costs. These include standard private supplementary insurance policies, such as those covering care costs, providing care pensions, or offering daily care allowances, depending on the specific tariff. These products are individually contracted and highly variable in terms of premiums and coverage levels depending on the provider and service scope. Ultimately, the aim is to fill the distance between the actual costs of care and the benefits provided by the state social care insurance.
