The SPD Minister of Health wants to secure the liquidity of the long-term care insurance until the summer.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The federal government supports the long-term care insurance with further financial aid in order to avert bankruptcy of the funds. In May, 550 million euros flowed into the system as an advance payment of the regular federal subsidy of one billion euros. This emerges from a letter from the Federal Ministry of Health to the Central Association of Statutory Health Insurance (GKV), which is available to the Handelsblatt.
In April, the cash registers received 1.2 billion euros to cover the costs of the pandemic. This means that the liquidity of the long-term care insurance is secured until the summer, according to the letter.
In July, the social long-term care insurance should then be able to take out a loan of one billion euros from the federal government. The opportunity can be claimed several times, it is said.
In the eyes of the deputy chairman of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, Gernot Kiefer, the aid is only a short-term solution.‧ “The federal government is shifting the problem to the coming year,” said Kiefer to journalists on Thursday at an event in Sommerfeld in Brandenburg.
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“On the one hand, you acted like a fire brigade, but on the other hand you seriously reduced it.” Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) apparently could not have found an agreement on a structurally sensible safeguarding of long-term care insurance.
Funds are demanding aid totaling 7.3 billion euros
Instead of loans, according to the GKV, a total of 7.3 billion euros are necessary to keep the contribution rates stable until the end of 2024. Around four billion euros are needed for pandemic-related costs that have not yet been borne by the federal government.
This includes expenses for hygiene, personnel and organizational measures. In addition, 3.3 billion euros are needed to refinance the social security contributions for caring relatives.
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Alternatively, the contributions would have to be increased by 0.35 percentage points in 2023. They are currently 3.05 percentage points for insured persons with children and 3.4 percentage points for those without children.
With an annual gross income at the contribution assessment limit of around 58,000 euros, this would mean an additional burden of 200 euros per year. “Either we finance according to the cause, or we are solely at the expense of the contributors,” said Kiefer.
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