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Lucha calls for reform: Nursing home costs can soon be planned and fair!
Social Minister Lucha is calling for reform of care costs in Baden-Württemberg in order to make personal contributions plannable and limited.
Lucha calls for reform: Nursing home costs can soon be planned and fair!
In recent weeks, the topic of nursing care insurance has increasingly stirred people's minds. The Social and Health Minister Manne Lucha of Baden-Württemberg has decided to finally initiate a sustainable financial and structural reform for long-term care insurance. How baden-wuerttemberg.de reported, the aim of this reform is to make the personal contributions to nursing home costs both plannable and limited. This is particularly important because the average contribution of those in need of care in the first year of staying in a nursing home is now a whopping 3,400 euros per month (as of July 1, 2025).
To address this challenge, Lucha came up with an innovative proposal: the so-called base-tip swap. With this new financing concept, nursing home residents should only pay a set basic amount, while nursing care insurance would cover any costs beyond that. At the moment, the co-payments consist of several components, including an average of 1,095 euros for accommodation and meals, 460 euros for investment costs and 1,845 euros for care-related expenses in the first year.
Looking for solutions, especially in difficult times
A central aspect of the reform is the high cost pressure, which is further fueled by price increases in the areas of energy, food and increased personnel costs. Lucha has clearly spoken out against the demand that the country should fully cover all investment costs. This decision is not considered to be technically justified, and it is clear that assuming the investment costs for 93,000 people in need of care would cost more than 510 million euros per year - an amount that the state budget cannot bear. A well-thought-out restructuring of financing is therefore essential.
In addition to Lucha's efforts, there are also nationwide calls for the introduction of the base-toe swap. Various organizations, including nursing and those affected associations as well as employee representatives, have joined this cause. The further details were provided by ev-heimstiftung.de summarized.
The advisory services are being expanded
A further step towards implementing this reform is the commissioning of Prof. Rothgang, who demonstrated the feasibility and financial viability of the base-tip exchange on behalf of the Pro-Pflegereform initiative in 2017. The second report will now examine which modules and financing strategies can be implemented. In addition, the aim is to dissolve the sector boundaries between outpatient and inpatient care in order to improve care.
The state's funding volume for short-term care is already around 15 million euros, and the strengthening of day and short-term care is also seen as a resilient care structure for people in need of care. Lucha highlights the importance of finding comprehensive solutions that are acceptable for everyone involved in these challenging times.
A call for collaboration
This reform is not only a challenge for politics, but also a common concern for society. The time pressure is high, but with the Future Care Pact, the foundations for better care provision will be developed by the end of 2025. It is important to take responsibility and work together towards solutions so as not to abandon those in need of care in our country.