Nursing care insurance receives an extra cash injection from the federal government

In view of its tense financial situation, nursing care insurance will receive its first extra cash injection from the federal government this month. It is foreseeable that there will be a call for funds from an additional loan in November, the Ministry of Health said at the request of the German Press Agency. The exact height has not yet been determined.

This was not necessary in October, as 522 million euros were available as the remainder of an original loan of 3.2 billion euros for the full year 2026. This was enough for the nursing care insurance company to meet its payment obligations.

To ensure security until the end of the year, the Bundestag's Budget Committee approved an additional loan of up to 700 million euros as an over-plan expenditure in addition to the first billion-euro loan at the beginning of October.

The payments are made “on a monthly basis” as needed to compensate for the lack of money to carry out the tasks of the long-term care insurance, as the Ministry of Health explained at the time. “This ensures that there are enough liquid assets in the system by the end of the year.”

The financial woes of nursing care insurance had recently worsened. The umbrella association of statutory health insurance companies, which also represents the nursing care insurance funds, announced at the end of August that there would no longer be enough income in October to fully finance the care services - not even with the annual loan of 3.2 billion euros that had already been granted.

The background is that the service expenditure of the nursing care funds has increased more than expected “due to the continued significant growth in the number of people in need of care,” as the Federal Ministry of Finance made clear in a letter to the Budget Committee.

In order to stabilize finances for 2027 and avoid general contribution increases, Health Minister Carsten Linnemann (CDU) has just introduced a savings package to the Bundestag. It provides for curbs on spending and additional revenue to cover a loss of probably 7.6 billion euros. A commission should then make proposals for major structural reform.