On average 2.068 euro own contribution for inpatient care

According to a recent data analysis by the Verband der Ersatzkassen e.V. the own contribution that a person in need of care has to pay for inpatient care on average continues to rise. There are also significant regional differences in this respect.

The recently published statistics of the Verband der Ersatzkassen e.V. illustrates, the average cost of inpatient care for a person in need of long-term care is currently 2.068 euros must pay. A year ago, the personal contribution was less than 2.000 euros. In addition, there are high regional differences. While in Saxony-Anhalt, for example, an average of 1.Whereas in North Rhine-Westphalia, the average person in need of care is required to pay EUR 465 for inpatient care, the figure in North Rhine-Westphalia is over two-thirds higher, namely EUR 2,000.460 euros.

For about four years, the benefits of the statutory (social) long-term care insurance (SPV) for inpatient care have not changed. Depending on the care level of the person in need of care, a lump sum is paid for the care, support and medical treatment in the nursing home. People in need of care who are accommodated in a nursing home as inpatients will continue to receive 125 euros a month from the SNI in 2021 for care level 1, 770 euros for care level 2, 1.262 euros for care level 3, 1.775 euros for care degrees 4 and 2.005 euros with care degree 5.

A recently published statistic from the Verband der Ersatzkassen e.V. (VDEK) shows that these flat-rate payments from the SNI are far from sufficient to cover the actual costs of inpatient care. According to the latest VDEK data, a person in need of care had to pay an average of 940 euros as of 1 January 2021. January 2021 from care level 2 in addition to the benefits of the SNI for inpatient care on a national average 2.068 euros every month to pay yourself. This is 128 euros or 6.6 percent more than on 1 January 2009. January 2020, at which time the monthly co-payment was 1.940 euros.

The co-payment consists of these cost types

Overall, the own contribution that a person in need of care has to pay for inpatient care in addition to the SPV benefits, is composed on the one hand of the costs for accommodation and meals and the investment costs of the nursing home. Investment costs include, among other things, the costs that the home operator can pass on to the home residents on a pro rata basis for building rent or financing, maintenance costs or similar expenses.

On the other hand, a person in need of care must also pay for part of the care-related costs, since the flat-rate benefits of the SNI are not sufficient for this purpose. These include, for example, costs for nursing staff and material expenses for nursing care. Since 2017, this so-called facility-uniform own contribution (EEE) for care costs from care level 2 to 5 is equal. All cost portions, from which the entire own contribution is composed, which a care-dependent person for a stationary care has to carry, are thus starting from care degree 2 independently of the care degree.

That is, the height of the entire own contribution in a nursing home is for a care-dependent with care-degree 5 the same high as for a care-dependent with care-degree 2. However, the co-payment differs from facility to facility. The German Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) therefore advises: "Since the costs for meals, accommodation, investments and comfort services can vary greatly depending on the facility, it is strongly advised to obtain detailed information when choosing a home."

The nationwide average

According to the VDEK statistics, a person in need of care in an inpatient nursing home in Germany currently has to pay an average of 779 euros for room and board and 458 euros for investment costs. The uniform facility-based co-payment, which is the same for all inpatients in need of care from care level 2 to 5 per facility, is 831 euros on average in Germany. With care degree 1 it is even 1.121 euros.

Overall, the financial burden on a person in need of care with care level 2 or higher for inpatient care in Germany was thus higher than in the previous year on 1 January 2009. January 2021 at an average of 2.068 euros, with care degree 1 it was even 2.358 euros. Compared to the previous year, the monthly co-payment for care level 2 and higher has increased by 128 euros and for care level 1 by 99 euros.

If you add up the benefits of the SNI and the personal contribution of a person in need of care, the average total cost of inpatient care in this country is currently:

• 2.483 euros in care level 1,
• 2.838 euros in care level 2,
• 3.330 euros in care level 3,
• 3.843 euros in care level 4 and
• 4.073 euros in care level 5.

Up to 66 percent difference depending on region

Not least because of regional differences in wage levels, real estate prices and the cost of living, the average contribution for inpatient care also varies significantly from state to state. For example, people in need of care in North Rhine-Westphalia, the state with the highest personal contribution, have to pay an average of 2.460 euros, just under a fifth (19 percent) more for inpatient care than the national average of 2.068 Euro.

In Saxony-Anhalt, the federal state with the lowest average personal contribution of 1.465 euros, those in need of inpatient care, on the other hand, have a burden that is around 29 percent lower than the average for Germany as a whole. People in need of care in North Rhine-Westphalia have to pay almost 68 percent more for inpatient care than people in Saxony-Anhalt. But even the increase in the personal contribution compared to the previous year is not the same for every federal state.

The biggest increase was in Saxony, where the personal contribution rose by 206 euros, or more than 14 percent, compared with the first quarter of 2006. January 2020 to now monthly 1.642 euros increased. Of all the federal states, the monthly co-payment increased the least in Saarland. Here care patients have for a stationary care with state 1. January 2021 on average 2.376 euros per month – that is 66 euros and thus three percent more than at the beginning of 2020.