Nursing home care is becoming more expensive - parliamentary groups call for reform

AfD demands long-term care living allowance

The AfD demanded a long-term care living allowance. "The CDU in Saxony announced a care allowance in 2019, but unfortunately we are still waiting for it today. The nursing home allowance is tantamount to covering the investment costs," explained parliamentary group leader Jörg Urban. It is a disgrace how older people in need of care who have worked their entire lives are treated. This is why the AfD demanded 189.3 million euros more for care in the last budget negotiations.

Care is increasingly becoming a poverty risk

"Care is increasingly becoming a poverty risk. Instead of providing security, the system is increasingly driving those in need of care and their relatives into financial overload," emphasized Green parliamentary group leader Franziska Schubert. Things could not go on like this. Long-term care insurance was introduced in 1995 to protect people from the financial risks of needing long-term care. "This promise is being kept less and less today." The Greens are calling on Saxony's government to provide greater support for investment in care homes and for the federal government to reform the care insurance system.

The German Association of Cities also sees an urgent need for action

The topic of care also came up at the conference of the German Association of Cities in Dresden. After all, rising care costs are also becoming an increasing burden for local authorities. "Very, very many people, especially in the East, but also increasingly in the West, are not able to pay their own share and the local authorities in the social welfare offices then become the guarantor," said Burkhard Jung (SPD), Lord Mayor of Leipzig and President of the Association of German Cities: "This is increasingly becoming the standard form of financing."

According to Jung, the costs in this area in Leipzig have increased from 25 to 50 million euros per year over the past five years.
Jung also called for a reform of care insurance. As with health insurance, it must cover the costs in full.

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