Care in nursing homes to cost 300 euros more within a year

In Saxony, people in need of long-term care and their families must pay more for a spot in a nursing home than they did a year ago. According to an analysis by the Association of Substitute Health Insurance Funds (vdek), the monthly copayment in Saxony rose to 3,152 euros as of July 1. That is nearly 300 euros more than a year ago.

There are significant regional differences. In a comparison of the states, care in the first year in a nursing home as of July 1 was most expensive in Bremen, at an average of 3,761 euros per month, and in Saarland, at 3,695 euros. The lowest monthly cost for the first year in a nursing home was in Saxony-Anhalt at 2,891 euros and in Lower Saxony at 3,008 euros. The national average was 3,364 euros.

Costs decrease with longer stays

The resident’s share of the cost consists of several components: the costs for room and board, capital costs, and care-related expenses. Nationwide, according to the vdek, care-related expenses in particular saw the sharpest increase—due in part to rising personnel costs.

However, the longer a person stays in a nursing home, the more subsidies from the long-term care insurance funds cover the cost of care itself. As a result, the financial burden decreases as the length of stay increases: In Saxony, the out-of-pocket costs in the second year at the facility amount to 2,831 euros at mid-year, 2,404 euros in the third year, and 1,870 euros in the fourth year, according to the report.