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Diverting Funds from Nursing Homes

Individuals receiving care at home, assigned a care grade, can avail financial aid for respite care services, amounting to 1,500 Euros annually in 2024. This allotment, however, is valid only up to 30th June. But the question remains: how to utilize it?

Withholding Financial Resources from Nursing Home Residents
Withholding Financial Resources from Nursing Home Residents

Care Insurance: Maximizing Your Relief Services with Expert Advice

Diverting Funds from Nursing Homes

Take control of your care insurance relief services and make the most of what's due to you, all while providing support to your relatives and caregivers. In this post, learn from financial expert Hermann-Josef Tenhagen about how to use the relief amount, recognize eligible services, and avoid leaving funds unused.

Check-in: April 15, 2025, 3:27 PM

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License: Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk

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Here's what we'll cover:

  • Using relief services from 2024 until June 2025
  • Knowing when and how to go into debt
  • Recognizing qualifying services
  • Avoiding unused funds

Utilizing 2024 Relief Services until June 2025

Care recipients with care levels in Germany can use any unused relief amount from 2024 before June 30, 2025. The relief amount is a financial aid intended to alleviate the costs of care services in the home environment, providing relief to family caregivers. It can also be used for services promoting the independence of care recipients.

To use the relief amount, care recipients must secure the related receipts for eligible services, such as short-term care, ambulatory care, and care courses. Check with your care insurance company for the remaining balance from the previous year.

It's worth noting that the balance from each year can only be used within the respective calendar year, but the services can be completed until June 30 of the following year. Submit your receipts to the insurance company up to four years after the deadline for reimbursement.

Going into Debt: When and How

The relief amount isn't handed out as cash or in advance. Care recipients must first spend their own funds on eligible services and then submit the corresponding receipts for reimbursement. The unused funds can be accumulated within the calendar year.

To simplify financial management, many providers can settle directly with the care insurance company if you provide a power of attorney. Keep track of your approved reimbursements to monitor your available budget.

Recognizing Eligible Services

The relief contribution can be applied to services that are recognized under the respective state law. Expenses for these services should not exceed the remuneration for comparable material services by approved care facilities, ensuring that they remain reimbursable[1]. Examples of such services include short-term care accommodations, catering, travel expenses, or respite care.

In rare cases, a break for caring relatives through a vacation can be covered via temporary short-term care services. The relief contribution can also contribute to these costs.

Avoiding Unused Funds

Many care recipients let relief services go to waste due to a lack of knowledge about smaller aid services that can be covered, such as help with household management, shopping assistance, or volunteer service for visits to authorities or walks. It's essential to ensure that these offers are recognized under state law.

Another challenge is the limited availability of offers, as only about half of those affected have difficulty finding home care services or a place in day, night, or short-term care[2]. There is a particular shortage of offerings in rural areas. The German Social Association, VdK, estimates that insured persons lose roughly 12 billion euros a year due to this lack of offerings[2].

More on the Topic:

[1] Better Care Allowance in 2025[2] Care Allowance: How Much More There Will Be in 2025[3] Aid Applications for Care Costs Often Take Months at Social Offices[4] Care Homes Have to Reject More and More Requests[5] Who cares for our parents? And what role do we play in this?

Sources:

  • [1] German federal Ministry of Health
  • [2] Social Association VdK (Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://www.vdk.de/)
  • [3] Deutsche Welle (Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://www.dw.com/)
  • [4] ZDF (Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://www.zdf.de/)
  • [5] German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) (Retrieved May 15, 2025, from https://www.diw.de/)
  1. The relief amount can be utilized for services promoting the independence of care recipients, which may include fitness-and-exercise programs and health-and-wellness activities designed to improve overall well-being.
  2. Beyond care services, the relief amount might also extend to personal-finance management assistance, such as financial planning and budgeting counseling to ensure that the fund is efficiently allocated.
  3. Proper nutrition is vital for maintaining mental health during times of care. Consequently, care recipients could seek eligible nutrition-related services, such as home-delivered meals or consulting with a registered dietitian.
  4. To minimize any financial burden, care recipients can explore insurance options that provide additional coverage for specific health-and-wellness services, such as mental-health treatments or wellness retreats, with the aim of enhancing every aspect of their well-being.

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