Pflege-Bahr does not provide sufficient protection

Stiftung Warentest with devastating judgment for the Pflege-Bahr

04/18/2013

The investigation of the Stiftung Warentest in a study on state-subsidized private care insurance with the result that these are by no means sufficient, „to cover the need for money in case of need“ Moreover, their terms of contract are often worse than those of unsolicited rates, which has given a very mixed response in the insurance industry and on the policy side.

While the governing coalition wants to see the so-called Pflege-Bahr as an entry into private care not only under cost recovery aspects, but stressed the introduction to Eingenverantwortlichkeit at this point, opposition feels confirmed by the results of the Stiftung Warentest in their previous criticism. For example, the SPD secretary-general Andrea Nahles emphasized in view of the financially unsustainable state-subsidized care allowance insurance: „Who wants to protect the smaller income, must not privatize the health and care risks and let people sit at the expense.“ In the case of private health insurance companies, however, the negative assessment of the Pflege-Bahr was rather critical, similar to that of the governing coalition. Particularly since "the private health insurances had from the beginning for the introduction of the model had used and this partly to the risk reduction with the care insurances use".

Pflege-Bahr with worse conditions than unsubsidized private care insurance
Already in the discussion on the introduction of state-subsidized care insurance days, the Chairman of the Federation of Insured (BdV), Axel Kleinlein, had expressed negative, since in his view, the administrative costs of contracts, allowances and risk structure equalization would consume the entire state support and the subsidized care tariffs may be significantly more expensive than the non-subsidized. Although this is not clear from the investigation of the Stiftung Warentest, the Pflege-Bahr obviously offers worse conditions than the other private long-term care insurance policies. Accordingly, the substantive criticism of Kleinlein has occurred to some extent. The Stiftung Warentest also concludes that "the contributions in the area of ​​the Pflege-Bahr could in future possibly increase more strongly than in unsolicited tariffs". (Fp)

Also read:
Long-term care insurance: Pflege-Bahr often does not make sense
Massive criticism of the Pflege-Bahr
PKV reduces contributions to long-term care insurance
Nursing insurance: SPD wants to ask PKV to checkout
New models of long-term care insurance in demand
Solidary care instead of private care risk
Rösler plans private supplementary care insurance
Contribution assessment limit is lowered
Contribution increase expected at nursing care insurance

Picture: Gerd Altmann