Policy Document

Law for the Structural Advancement of Nursing Care Insurance (from 1945-1990: West Germany)

Year

2008

Country

Germany

Topic

Health

Subtopic

Long-term care

Keywords

Access to healthcare Ageing society Elderly care Healthcare system Long-term care

Main implications

Increase in contribution rate to 1.95% from 1 July 2008.

Increase in the amounts of the LTC benefits (see indicators).

Payment for a professional career needed for a period of up to four weeks:

- up to 1,470 EUR; from 1 July 2008; - 1,510 EUR from 1 January 2010; and - up to 1,550 EUR from 1 January 2012.

Benefits & Requirements

Coverage: Eligible groups or beneficiaries

People requiring substantial long-term assistance in performing usual and regularly recurring daily activities (two or more activities of daily living, with the need for assistance lasting at least six months) due to physical, emotional, or mental diseases or handicaps.

Implementing Text & Related Legislation

Original name of the legal document/act (native language)

Gesetz zur strukturellen Weiterentwicklung der Pflegeversicherung (Pflege-Weiterentwicklungsgesetz)

Date of passage/approval

28^th May 2008

Date of signature

30^th May 2008

Date of publication

1^st July 2008

Are the effects retroactive?

Actors

Grand Coalition under Conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel;
President Horst Köhler; Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel; Minister of Health Ulla Schmidt; Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Olaf Scholz; Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Consumer Protection Horst Seehofer; Minister of Family, Senior Citizens, Women , and Youth Ursula von der Leyen

Financing

Equal employer and employee contributions (calculated from gross income). The system was administered by the health insurance funds. Employers were compensated for their premium payments through the designation of a holiday as a working day (except in Saxony). In addition, a co-payment for institutional services was introduced; beneficiaries entering an LTC institution were required to pay at least 25% of the cost of institutional care. Compulsorily insured pensioners were to pay the full amount of the contribution (from 1 April 2004). Insured persons born since 1940 without children were to pay a supplement of 0.25% of all contributory earnings from the age of 23 onwards.

Read the Law

Original full text source in native language

BGBl. 2008 I:874

Original full text web source in native language

http://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav

Secondary Literature & Sources

Secondary literature

Centre for German Legal Information. "Gesetz über die Pflegezeit - Pflegezeitgesetz - PflegeZG" [Long-Term Care Leave Act]. Available at: http://www.cgerli.org/fileadmin/user_upload/interne_Dokumente/Legislation/Act_on_Long-Term_Care_Leave.pdf.