Survey: Large majority for full insurance in nursing care

29.09.2023 14:00

A large, cross-party majority of the population is in favor of expanding statutory nursing care insurance into full insurance. This was the result of a representative Forsa survey commissioned by the Alliance for Solidarity Care Insurance. The clear majority in favor of full nursing care insurance of 81 percent can be seen among supporters of the SPD (79 percent), the Greens (82 percent), as well as the CDU (78 percent) and the FDP (76 percent). The Alliance for Solidarity Comprehensive Long-Term Care Insurance sees its demand as supported by the high cross-party approval ratings and is calling on the federal government to tackle the expansion of long-term care insurance now.

Currently, those in need of care have to raise an average of around 2,700 euros per month themselves in the first year of their stay in a nursing home. Of this, around 1,250 euros are spent on nursing care alone; the rest is made up of costs for accommodation and meals as well as investment costs. According to the survey, only a small minority of 14 percent assume that they will be able to cover these costs themselves if they need care. Only 6 percent of those surveyed consider additional costs of this amount to be appropriate despite nursing care insurance. According to the alliance, it is worrying that a large majority (76 percent) significantly underestimate what they would have to pay if they needed care in a home.

Ulrich Schneider, General Manager of the Joint Association:

“If long-term care insurance is not finally expanded based on solidarity, more and more people will be caught off guard by the high costs of needing care. The need for care is increasingly becoming a real poverty trap. It is high time for the federal government to get nursing care insurance out of the dead end and give people security with full nursing care insurance.”

Sylvia Bühler, member of the federal executive board, United Services Union ver.di:

“Elderly care workers and people in need of care must no longer be played off against each other, because good care requires adequate staffing and qualified nursing staff. The current logic must therefore be broken, according to which every improvement in working conditions and wages for employees automatically leads to higher costs for those in need of care. We finally need comprehensive nursing care insurance that is guaranteed to cover all care-related costs and is financed through solidarity.”

Dr. Manfred Stegger, Chairman of the BIVA Nursing Protection Association:

“In our welfare state, people should be able to trust that a solidarity-based insurance policy that has the word 'care' in its name fully covers the pure risk of care. Social assistance is not a worthy replacement for claims from your own contribution payments.”

The representative survey was carried out from August 1st to August 7th, 2023 by the market and opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the alliance. A total of 1,010 people over the age of 18 were surveyed as part of the multi-topic survey conducted by the representative online survey panel forsa.Omninet.

The Alliance for Solidarity Comprehensive Nursing Care Insurance advocates for nursing care insurance that covers all care-related costs - regardless of whether it is inpatient or outpatient care. Family care should not be overlooked either. Otherwise there is a risk of overload and under-supply because necessary services are not used for financial reasons: “All care services that are deemed to be appropriate by an independent nursing-medical service must be fully financed by the health insurance companies without any own contributions,” is the common demand the alliance initiated by the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband and the United Services Union ver.di with the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), German Professional Association for Nursing Professions (DBfK), Social Association of Germany (SoVD), Federal Association of Municipal Institutions for Seniors and Disabled People (BKSB), German Women's Council, BIVA -Pflegeschutzbund, Volkssolidarität and AWO.

The alliance's joint call is on www.solidarische-pflegevollversicherung.de available.

You can find them here Full length BIVA position.