People in need of care: Minister Paus sees a need for reform in home care

Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus says she sees a need for structural reform in home care.

People in need of care: Minister Paus sees a need for reform in home care

Federal Family Minister Lisa Paus says she sees a need for structural reform in home care. The situation of caring relatives is "not good" and must be improved urgently, said the Green politician of the German Press Agency. Many of them are doubly burdened by care and work and are under time and financial pressure, explained the Green politician.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, 4.96 million people in Germany were in need of care within the meaning of the Care Insurance Act at the end of 2021. About five out of six people in need of care - 4.17 million people - were cared for at home. "The relatives are Germany's largest nursing service," Paus summed up. In the coming years, the number will "increase immensely" due to demographic change.

Agreements of the coalition parties

In the coalition agreement, the SPD, FDP and Greens have agreed to provide better support for caring relatives - among other things by creating wage replacement benefits. This would be comparable to the existing parental allowance, said the family minister. The federal government is currently in the process of “preparing a fundamental reform of family care leave”. When exactly relatives can count on a wage replacement benefit, she initially left open.

So far, only those in need of care are entitled to benefits from the long-term care insurance fund. You can also pay part of it to relatives - but you don't have to.

The gender issue is also a "huge issue" here, said Paus. In the vast majority of cases, it is women who are retiring from work and working part-time to care for relatives. With pension entitlements that are already low, this often leads to poverty in old age. "This is absurd! Women should not be penalized financially for taking responsibility for relatives or people close to them."

The care of those in need of care is a "question of human dignity". She is therefore committed to ensuring that "all possibilities for better support for home care are used in the future," Paus assured.

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