Apply for Long-Term Care Assistance

Do you have health-related limitations that affect your independence or abilities, and are you therefore dependent on assistance from others? If so, under certain circumstances, you may be eligible for long-term care assistance.

If you have long-term care insurance, your local long-term care insurance fund or your private long-term care insurance company—which administers the mandatory private long-term care insurance—is primarily responsible for covering your long-term care costs. However, depending on the type of service, the long-term care insurance will only cover costs up to certain maximum limits.

If you are unable to cover the remaining costs, you may be eligible for social assistance benefits, such as care assistance.

However, you may still be eligible for long-term care assistance even if you are not entitled to benefits under the long-term care insurance program—for example, if you are not covered by long-term care insurance or if your need for care is expected to last less than 6 months.

The need for care may be due to physical, cognitive, or mental impairments, or to health-related stresses or demands that you are unable to compensate for or manage on your own.

You should submit your application for long-term care assistance to your local social services agency.

• If your long-term care insurance provider has already determined your care level, the social assistance agency is bound by that decision. This is contingent on the decision being based on facts that must be taken into account in both determinations.
• If the long-term care insurance fund has not yet made a decision regarding your care level, the social assistance agency may take action itself if the matter is urgent. To this end, the social assistance agency may commission other experts or the Medical Service to assist in making its decision.

You are eligible for long-term care assistance only if your income and assets—and those of your spouse or domestic partner—are insufficient, after covering living expenses and other general needs, to cover the uncovered costs of long-term care on your own. Children and parents who are obligated to provide support are only required to reimburse costs if their annual gross income exceeds 100,000 EUR.

Under the long-term care assistance program, you are entitled to the following benefits:

In Care Level 1:

• Care Aids
• Measures to Improve the Living Environment
• digital healthcare applications
• Additional support for using digital care applications
• Deduction Amount

For care levels 2 through 5:

• Home care in the form of:
  • Care Allowance
  • home care assistance
  • Respite Care
  • Care Aids
  • Measures to Improve the Living Environment
  • other services
  • digital care applications
  • Additional support for using digital care applications
• Partial-time care, meaning care provided intermittently during the day or at night at a day care or night care facility
• Short-term care refers to temporary, full-time inpatient care when care is generally provided at home
• Deduction Amount
• Inpatient care, that is, long-term, full-time inpatient care

The competent authority will review your documents. If you meet the relevant requirements, you will be granted long-term care benefits.