Kostenexplosion: AOK-Chefin: Acht-Milliarden-Loch in Pflegeversicherung 2027
Die Kosten für die Pflege laufen aus dem Ruder. Die Vorstandschefin des AOK-Bundesverbandes macht zwei Vorschläge, um höhere Beiträge zu vermeiden.
The head of the statutory care insurance, Carola Reimann, has revealed a projected deficit of eight billion euros for 2027. "The looming hole accounts for more than a tenth of the entire expenditure of the care insurance system, which amounts to 70 billion euros per year," Reimann told the Funke media group. The loan provided by the federal government for this year, amounting to 3.2 billion euros, is expected to be insufficient.
Reimann emphasized that the loan would not be enough to cover the deficit by the end of the year. She warned that if these gaps are not promptly addressed, further increases in contribution rates will occur, unless other measures are taken or additional funds are allocated from the federal budget.
Reimann suggested a financial adjustment between social and private care insurance as a possible additional relief. She also called for funding general society's responsibilities of the care insurance system through tax revenues, which includes pension contributions for caregivers. Reimann welcomed the decision of Federal Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) not to contribute to reducing pension contributions for caregivers.
Approximately 5.7 million people require care, with 86 percent of them receiving home-based care, often from family members. Reducing pension contributions for caregivers in this context would be "the completely wrong approach."
The coalition government is currently working on a reform of the care insurance system, which, unlike health insurance, only covers part of the costs. Care recipients pay an additional share, while the care institution receives the benefits of the care system. A draft law proposed by former Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) includes cost-saving measures and additional revenue sources to cover chronic billion-euro gaps in the care insurance system and prevent general contribution increases.
Warken had also planned cuts to pension entitlements for caregivers, which Linnemann, as the new Health Minister, intends to avoid.
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