Apply for care assistance

Do you have impairments to your independence or your abilities for health reasons and are therefore dependent on help from others? Then you are entitled to care assistance under certain circumstances.

If you have long-term care insurance, your relevant long-term care insurance fund or your private long-term care insurance company, which provides compulsory private long-term care insurance, is responsible for covering the costs of long-term care. However, the costs are only covered by long-term care insurance up to certain maximum limits, depending on the type of benefit.

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

However, you may also be entitled to long-term care assistance if you have no claims against long-term care insurance, for example if you do not have long-term care insurance or if the need for long-term care is expected to last less than 6 months.

The reason for the need for care may be physical, cognitive or mental impairments or health-related stresses or requirements that you are unable to compensate for or cope with independently.

You can apply for care assistance from your responsible social welfare organisation.

• If your care insurance fund has already decided on your level of care, the social welfare organisation is bound by this decision. The prerequisite for this is that it is based on facts that must be taken into account in both decisions.
• If the care insurance fund has not made a decision on your level of care, the social welfare organisation can take action itself if there is a corresponding need for urgency. The social welfare organisation can commission other experts or the Medical Service to assist with its decision.

You will only receive care assistance if your income and assets and those of your spouse or partner are not sufficient to cover the uncovered costs of care yourself after covering your living expenses and other general living requirements. Dependent children and parents are only required to reimburse costs if their annual gross income is more than EUR 100,000.

You are entitled to the following benefits as part of care assistance:

In care level 1:

• Care aids
• Measures to improve the living environment
• Digital care applications
• Supplementary support with the use of digital care applications
• Relief amount

In care levels 2 to 5:

• home care in the form of:
  • Care allowance
  • home care assistance
  • Preventive care
  • Care aids
  • Measures to improve the living environment
  • other services
  • digital care applications
  • Supplementary support for the use of digital care applications
• Partial inpatient care, i.e. temporary care during the day or at night in a day care or night care facility
• Short-term care, i.e. temporary full inpatient care when care is generally provided at home
• Relief amount
• Inpatient care, i.e. permanent full inpatient care

The competent authority will check your documents. If the relevant requirements are met, you will be granted care assistance.