The debate around reforming Germany's statutory care insurance took a sharp turn this week after Albert Stegemann, the deputy leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, called for homeownership to be factored into an individual's personal contribution towards nursing care costs.
Speaking to the Bild newspaper on Thursday, Stegemann argued that there could be no inheritance protection programme funded at the expense of the general public. He insisted that everyone must first draw on their personal assets, including residential property, before the community steps in.
Stegemann also emphasised the importance of greater private provision, stating that those who plan ahead, whether through supplementary private care insurance, equity investments, or home ownership, take responsibility for their own care needs.
The proposal drew immediate criticism from the Social Association of Germany (SoVD). Its chairwoman, Michaela Engelmeier, told the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers that the plan would primarily affect people with modest wealth,m those who own small, self-occupied apartments or houses but lack liquid financial resources. She described the initiative as deeply problematic from a social policy standpoint.
Engelmeier warned that factoring in owner-occupied homes when calculating nursing care contributions could mean that, despite decades of paying into the solidarity-based care insurance system, people would not only lose their homes but also the familiar social surroundings that are especially crucial for those receiving care at home. The SoVD instead called for stronger collective financing mechanisms that adequately cover the costs of nursing care.
The Left Party also rejected the proposal. Sören Pellmann, the party's parliamentary group leader, told the AFP news agency that something was fundamentally wrong with this debate if the Left now had to step in to protect small inheritances, such as a grandmother's modest house, from being seized under CDU policy.
Pellmann argued that social insurance systems exist to pay out when the insured event occurs, regardless of an individual's financial situation. Drawing a comparison with health insurance, he pointed out that no one is told to sell their house before receiving a heart operation. Rather than targeting property assets, the Left called for a fair reform of inheritance tax.
The party has long criticised the fact that Germany's care insurance only covers a portion of actual nursing costs and continues to demand a comprehensive full-coverage care insurance model.
Dagmar Schmidt, the deputy leader of the SPD parliamentary group, struck a different tone. Speaking to the Rheinische Post, she acknowledged that it is fundamentally reasonable to factor in personal wealth more strongly when nursing care costs arise.
She pointed to the solidarity principle at the heart of Germany's social insurance system, explaining that everyone contributes according to their means to ensure care for all. Against this backdrop, she described the suggestion that wealthier individuals should first draw on their own assets as a legitimate subject for discussion.
The German Association of Homeowners (Verband Wohneigentum) pointed out that property assets are, in principle, already taken into account in nursing care situations under existing regulations. The current exemption only applies in specific cases, namely when the owner still lives in the property or when a spouse continues to reside there.
The association's managing director, Verena Örenbas, warned against expanding these rules. She noted that behind these protected cases are often people who are already at their breaking point, such as a wife who is nursing her husband, managing the household, and simultaneously trying to hold on to the family home.
The debate comes against a pressing financial backdrop. Federal Health Minister Nina Warken of the CDU expects the care insurance system to run a combined deficit of €22.5 billion over the next two years. The coalition government of CDU/CSU and SPD intends to address this through a major care reform. A draft bill from Warken had been expected in May but has since been delayed and is now due by early July.
Manuela Schwesig, the Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and a member of the SPD, took a broadly critical view of the coalition's reform approach. Speaking on the Phoenix television channel, she opposed what she called an unsolidary financing model for care, one in which those with the highest incomes and assets do not contribute their fair share, while at the same time, spending cuts would effectively shift nursing costs onto local municipalities.
From breaking news to thought-provoking opinion pieces, our newsletter keeps you informed & engaged.
