Rhineland-Palatinate: nursing home out-of-pocket costs reach €3,289 per month

The figures

What is Eigenanteil?

Eigenanteil refers to the sum that nursing home residents must pay personally, beyond coverage by the statutory long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung). It consists of four components: the residual share of care services, accommodation costs, meal costs, and the facility's capital investment costs.

A reform adopted in 2022 introduced a mechanism for gradual reduction of the care component (Leistungszuschläge), designed to ease the burden on residents based on length of stay. However, this mechanism does not cap accommodation costs or capital investment expenses.

The vdek: data source

The vdek (Verband der Ersatzkassen, Association of Substitute Health Funds) is the federation of major German statutory health and long-term care insurers known as 'substitute funds' (Ersatzkassen), including TK (Techniker Krankenkasse), BARMER, and DAK-Gesundheit. The organization regularly publishes statistical analyses on personal care costs across German federal states (Länder).

What remains uncertain

The published data covers only Rhineland-Palatinate. No comparison with other German federal states or with the national average is available in the sources shared with dpa. The specific causes of the observed increase are not detailed in the information provided.

19 August 2026 at 04:33

18 August 2026 at 06:06