Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

HEALTH

Cost of German care insurance could rise in July

To combat the steep cost of care, the German Health Ministry is planning to increase monthly contributions to the care insurance fund, according to media reports.

Published: 24 February 2023 12:26 CET

Old-age care in Germany

An elderly patient receives a visit from a relative in a care home. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/CARE24 GmbH | Care24 GmbH

According to a draft law seen by DPA and reported on by other media outlets on Friday, contributions could increase by 0.35 percent as of July 1st, 2023.

On the other hand, those receiving care would get more financial aid from the state.

Specifically, the draft outlines plans to increase the care allowance for people in nursing homes from January 1st, 2024 and also hike relief for people receiving care at home.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had previously indicated that higher long-term care contributions would be necessary to fill a gaping deficit in the care system.

In 2022 – despite minor increases in care contributions at the start of the year – there was a €2.25 billion black hole in the statutory insurance funds.

On Friday, statutory health and care insurance funds and social pressure groups wrote to the government to demand more tax revenues for care.

In a letter to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), the insurance funds claimed they would require €4.5 billion from the state simply to stabilise their finances in 2023.

“We therefore urge you to quickly stabilise the financing of the social long-term care insurance through federal funds, so that the necessary securing of liquidity is not exclusively at the expense of those paying contributions,” they wrote.

READ ALSO: What foreigners need to know about old-age care in Germany

The costs of care have been rising rapidly in Germany due to the country’s aging population, higher wages for care professionals, and the effects of the Covid pandemic.

Currently, the contribution to the statutory long-term care insurance is 3.05 percent of gross wages for those with children and 3.4 percent for those without.

With the increase, this would go up to 3.4 percent for people with children and 3.75 for those without – though employees only pay half of the total contribution.

READ ALSO: Will health insurance costs go up again in Germany?

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

How to find available therapists in Germany

The process to find psychotherapy in Germany’s urban centres is arduous – licensed therapists often have impossibly long wait times, and private practices don’t accept public health insurance.

A major reason that public insurance funded mental health care is hard to find in Germany comes down to regulations. Specifically the ‘coverage plan’ (Bedarfsplanung) that basically limits the number of licences available for publicly insured therapists in a region.

Germany’s maddening bureaucracy probably won’t be fixed any time soon. So residents in need of therapy will need to find a way through the system as it is.

So here are a few helpful tips for finding therapists, as well as how publicly insured patients can have private practice therapy costs reimbursed.

Look for therapists enrolled at academies

You’ll probably have a better chance getting an appointment with therapists who are currently in training, because not everyone knows that this option exists.

You can search for “Akademie für Psychotherapie”, to find one in your location. The Berliner Akademie für Psychotherapie, is one in the capital city, for example.

If you arrange an appointment this way, you can expect to be connected with a grad student therapist in training who needs to complete their supervised practice hours. In this case, you would see your therapist as usual, and they will be going through your session with an experienced therapist afterward.

The main advantages to seeking a therapist in training is that it may be cheaper and you can probably more readily find an appointment. A potential disadvantage is that the therapist you’ll be seeing is less experienced.

But according to a Stockholm University study, student therapists who receive regular feedback from supervisors may be just as effective as licensed therapists at treating patients.

How to get reimbursed for going to a private practice

As mentioned above, therapists covered by public health insurance are few and far between, especially in many urban centres, and therefore regularly come with long wait times. But for those willing to do battle with the bureaucracy, there is an option to have your costs reimbursed for seeing a private practice therapist.

Specifically, public insurance providers are obligated to provide full reimbursement of costs in the event of a “supply emergency”.

Waiting times of more than three months are considered unreasonable. So generally, patients can claim a supply emergency if they have contacted several therapists, and none of them offered available appointments within that time frame.

But you’ll want to make sure that your process is properly documented so that you won’t be stuck with the out-of-pocket costs.

First, you’ll need to document your need for psychotherapy. To get this, make an appointment for a psychotherapeutic consultation with a practice in your area, and be sure to collect a written recommendation for treatment (a PTV 11 form).

If you don’t know where to start with this, look to the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (Kassenärztliche Vereinigung) for a database of therapists. You can also call 116 117 or use the 116 117 App.

After you’ve got your PTV 11 certificate, you’ll need to document your futile search for a licensed therapist. To do this, contact at least three to five therapists that have public health insurance approval. Keep a list of the names of therapists you contacted, as well as dates and times of contact and how long the waiting list for treatment is.

Additionally, you should try to arrange treatment through the aforementioned Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, and receive confirmation if it’s not possible. So you’ll need to call 116 117, or use the 116 117 App again. But this time go through the process to have them try to find you placement with a therapist. This should take a maximum of four weeks, but rarely happens.

Finally, if you have documented all of the above and have still not found a readily available therapist, then you can seek out a private practice. You’ll need to enroll as a self-paying patient initially, but then you can submit an application for an outpatient reimbursement (Kostenerstattungsverfahren) along with the previously collected certificates and proof of your search. Private practice therapists are usually familiar with this process, and may be able to help you with the application as well.

READ ALSO: What are the main reasons internationals in Germany turn to therapy?

Free phone consultations for students

Students in Berlin can also take advantage of a free 50-minute conversation with a therapist through StudierendenWERK.

For students elsewhere, it’s worth checking what kind of mental health support services your school offers. Many German universities offer mental health support to some extent, and if school counsellors can’t provide the care that you need, they may be able to offer helpful information about where such services are available in your area.

READ ALSO: Here’s how you can get mental health help in English in Germany

Url copied to clipboard!