Overview
- Verbraucherzentrale Berlin reports rising cases of providers billing care insurers for services never delivered by exploiting the Entlastungsbetrag.
- Fraudsters often capture signatures and insurance data during an initial visit, forge claims, or use signed assignment declarations to bill directly.
- Victims typically discover the misuse only when a reimbursement is denied because their saved Entlastungsbetrag has been exhausted.
- The Entlastungsbetrag provides €131 per month from Pflegegrad 1 and unused funds can be carried over with the Pflegekasse until the end of July of the following year.
- Advisers urge beneficiaries to request regular account overviews, verify approved providers via portals such as Pflegelotse.de, favor reimbursement billing, and report suspected fraud to the Pflegekasse and police; separate 2026 updates include Bavaria’s Landespflegegeld cut to €500 and nationwide changes to Pflegegeld consultations and continuation during hospital or rehab stays.