SPD and social associations are pushing for changes to the planned care reform

The Federal Cabinet is actually due to launch the care reform on Wednesday. But the SPD is again calling for changes before a meeting of the coalition leaders in the evening. Social associations are also critical. Shortly before the planned cabinet decision on the care reform, the Federal Government is still negotiating the details of the project.

Before a meeting of the coalition partners in the evening, SPD health expert Christos Pantazis reiterated his party's call for changes. "A blatant justice problem" The statutory nursing care fund has "a blatant justice problem compared to private nursing care insurance," said the health policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group on Deutschlandfunk. He expects the coalition to reach an agreement in principle by Wednesday. Federal Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) wants to submit a bill to the Federal Cabinet on Wednesday to prevent an imminent billions deficit in statutory long-term care insurance this year.

The SPD had already threatened to block a purely austerity law over the weekend and called for structural improvements. SPD for nursing cover and greater burden sharing Specifically, the Social Democrats are calling for a cap on nursing costs for those affected in the home and for private individuals to share in the cost of statutory nursing care insurance. According to this, the care-related personal contribution should amount to a maximum of 1,500 euros per month. The rest would have to be covered by long-term care insurance.

The "common life risk of care" is unequally distributed between the two insurance systems. There must be "at least one settlement" financially, Pantazis said. The SPD has long advocated citizens' insurance for everyone. If this is not enforceable in the coalition, according to Pantazis, a financial compensation is "feasible and necessary".

Social associations are also calling for renegotiations. The social associations are also calling for a change in the care reform. Renegotiations are "overdue," said Joachim Rock, managing director of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband. "Shifting more and more costs to the insured and those in need of care, reducing benefits and only buying time with loans remains piecemeal and does not meet the challenges." There is a need for "a solidarity-based full care insurance, which fully covers the care-related costs and effectively relieves those in need of care as well as relatives of the increasing own contributions". Rock also demands "a common insurance for all".

It would "broaden the financing base and reduce existing imbalances between insurance systems," stressed the head of the association. Linnemann rejects SPD claims However, Linnemann has rejected the SPD's claim for financial compensation between private and social long-term care insurance. There are "highest constitutional doubts". He called on his cabinet colleague Lars Klingbeil (SPD), who is responsible for finance, to make concessions: "If you want structural changes in long-term care insurance, you have to put it on a solid financial footing," said Linnemann.

"That's why we have to talk about the noninsurance benefits and not about the access to third-party funds." The Federal Ministry of Finance must now meet "its obligations" and repay the more than five billion euros in coronavirus aid in question to the long-term care insurance. "These are non-insurance benefits." Linnemann had already reacted negatively to the SPD's demand for a "nursing cover" for home costs on Sunday in the ARD. Such a limit would only result in a relief of a few hundred euros. “We wouldn't solve the problem.”