Nursing home care is becoming more expensive - Saxony at almost 3,000 euros

People in need of care and their relatives in Saxony have to pay more for a place in a care home than they did a year ago. According to an analysis by the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (vdek), the monthly co-payment in the state rose to an average of €2,986 as of January 1, 2026. This is €266 more than at the beginning of 2025 (€2,720).

The co-payment is made up of several components: the cost of accommodation and meals, investment costs and care-related expenses. According to vdek, care-related expenses in particular recorded the sharpest rise nationwide - partly due to increased staff costs.

However, the longer someone is in a care home, the more subsidies from the care insurance funds for pure care take effect. This means that the burden decreases with increasing length of stay: in the second year in the home, the co-payment in Saxony at the beginning of the year was 2,689 euros, in the third year 2,293 euros and in the fourth year 1,797 euros, according to the report.

Big differences in the federal states

There are major regional differences. In a state comparison, the most expensive care in the first year in a home as of January 1 was in Bremen with an average of 3,637 euros per month and in Saarland with 3,601 euros. The lowest monthly burden in the first year in a care home was now in Saxony-Anhalt at 2,720 euros and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony at 2,903 euros each.

The head of the board of the Ersatzkassenverband, Ulrike Elsner, said that sustainable financing of care was needed, which would also significantly relieve the burden on those in need of care in care homes. They would have to pay for investment and training costs, which are the responsibility of the state. "We are calling on the federal states to finally cover these costs," said Elsner. The black-red coalition is aiming for a fundamental reform of care financing this year.

The study analyzed remuneration agreements between care insurance companies and nursing homes in all federal states. The Ersatzkassenverband includes Techniker Krankenkasse, Barmer and DAK-Gesundheit.