Overview
- About 309,000 nursing-home residents currently receive municipal social assistance, according to the DAK-commissioned analysis.
- High monthly co-payments of roughly €3,500 are identified as the main driver making institutional care unaffordable.
- Without reform, the share on assistance could rise to about 43% by 2035, or roughly 356,000 people.
- DAK warns the system is at its limit and says trust in social long-term care insurance is eroding, risking a "care collapse."
- The insurer says only capped co-payment models can restrain assistance rates, though they would raise insurance costs and, absent higher contributions, require additional tax funding.