Affordable Nursing Insurance in Brandenburg Still Crucial
Germany is facing a potential multi-billion-euro deficit in its public long-term care insurance system, as highlighted by Health Minister Nina Warken. To tackle this financial challenge, the government is considering various measures aimed at improving the sustainability of the system and managing demographic pressures that drive up costs.
One of the key planned approaches includes increasing labor market participation, especially among women and older individuals. This move aims to broaden the contribution base to social insurance systems and balance the increasing ratio of retirees to working-age people, a significant factor in long-term care financing pressures.
Another strategy is the reform of retirement age policies. For instance, linking the earliest possible retirement age and the standard retirement age to life expectancy, similar to Estonia’s approach starting in 2027, encourages longer working lives, thereby increasing the workforce contributing to care insurance funds and reducing the financial strain on the system.
The government is also reconsidering rules on early retirement without deductions, particularly the provision allowing retirement without penalties after 45 years of work. Tightening such rules could help retain experienced workers longer in the labor market and improve insurance fund balances.
While specific funding mechanisms for the care insurance deficit are not yet detailed, these employment and retirement reforms indirectly aim to boost contributions to the insurance scheme and contain costs related to the growing aging population needing care.
Brandenburg, under the leadership of Health Minister Britta Müller, is at the forefront of these discussions. Müller advocates for focusing on those with the greatest need for long-term care and sees the "Pact for Care" as a nationwide model for supporting long-term care in municipalities.
As of 2023, over 214,000 people in Brandenburg require long-term care, with more than half being aged 80 or older. Müller warns that long-term care will become unaffordable due to additional services added since its introduction in 1995.
To address this, Müller proposes that the federal government review the tools used to assess long-term care needs. This proposal is currently being presented in a working group.
CDU politician Nina Warken, the Federal Health Minister, communicated this information to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). Warken intends to prevent a multi-billion-euro deficit in long-term care insurance and emphasizes the need for structural reforms to labor market participation and retirement policies to secure the financial viability of long-term care insurance amid rising demand and demographic shifts.
Sources: [1] OECD Economic Analyses [3] Information provided by Health Minister Nina Warken to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND)
- The government's plan to improve the sustainability of the public long-term care insurance system in Germany includes a focus on science, particularly in the field of health-and-wellness and nutrition, as part of the strategy to extend the working lives of older individuals.
- To address the financial challenges in long-term care, the federal government is considering reforms in Medicare policies to encourage longer working lives, which would increase the workforce contributing to care insurance funds and reduce the deficit.
- Personal-finance considerations are also at play, as the government is reconsidering rules on early retirement without deductions, hoping to retain experienced workers longer, improve insurance fund balances, and manage the growing costs associated with the aging population in need of care.
- In an effort to provide more affordable long-term care, Brandenburg's Health Minister Britta Müller has proposed reviewing the tools used to assess long-term care needs, with a focus on personalized care that caters to those with the greatest need.
