Care aids in Germany: what the care fund supplies and pays
From disposable gloves to a care bed: two kinds of aids, two cost rules and a deadline after which an application counts as approved.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Care aids: what you pay yourself
Your share in total
€38
| Consumables above the allowance | €13 |
| Co-payment for the technical aid | €25 |
Care aids (Pflegehilfsmittel) are devices and supplies that make care at home easier, relieve discomfort or allow a more independent life (section 40 of Book XI of the German Social Code, SGB XI). The entitlement starts at care grade 1 and applies only where health insurance is not responsible. The law distinguishes two groups. For consumables such as disposable gloves or absorbent bed pads, the long-term care fund pays up to €42 a month, €504 a year, with no co-payment. Technical aids such as a care bed, positioning aids or an alarm system should preferably be lent; adults pay 10 % of the cost, at most €25 per item, so €25 on €250 and only €25 on €900. The fund must decide within 3 weeks, or 5 weeks with an expert review. If it gives no adequate written reason for a delay, the aid counts as approved once the deadline passes. A recommendation by a registered nurse creates a presumption of need.
Two kinds of care aids
German long-term care insurance distinguishes technical aids from consumables (BMG, care aids). Technical aids last; the ministry names the care bed, positioning aids and an alarm system. Consumables are thrown away after one use, above all disposable gloves and absorbent bed pads. Each group has its own cost rules, which matters when you compare offers from suppliers.
| Consumables | Technical aids | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | disposable gloves, bed pads | care bed, positioning aids, alarm system |
| Fund pays | up to €42 a month | loan or purchase, repair and replacement included |
| Co-payment | none | 10 %, at most €25 per item, from age 18 |
| Form | delivery or refund | preferably on loan |
| Basis | section 40(2) SGB XI | section 40(3) SGB XI |
The products covered are listed in the directory of care aids (Pflegehilfsmittelverzeichnis), kept by the national association of care funds as an annex to the health insurance aids directory (section 78 SGB XI). Items suitable for lending are marked separately. The ministry describes it as a guide to which aids are supplied or lent. New products can be added at the manufacturer’s request; the association decides within three months of receiving complete documents.
What the co-payment really amounts to
| Price of the technical aid | Co-payment | Fund pays |
|---|---|---|
| €60 | €6.00 | €54.00 |
| €150 | €15.00 | €135.00 |
| €250 | €25.00 | €225.00 |
| €900 | €25.00 | €875.00 |
| €2,500 | €25.00 | €2,475.00 |
For expensive devices the co-payment is small in relative terms because it stops at €25. It is paid to the supplier, not to the fund. The fund can waive it in hardship cases, and once the burden limit under section 62 SGB V is reached nothing more is due. Anyone choosing better equipment than necessary, such as a bed with extra functions, pays the extra cost and the follow-on costs (section 40(1) SGB XI).
The monthly allowance for consumables
Up to €42 a month is available for consumables from grade 1 (section 28a SGB XI). The fund can have them delivered or refund the cost (section 40(2)). In practice this often runs through a supplier who bills the fund and delivers monthly, which can be arranged from abroad by phone or online. If more is needed, the family pays the difference. The amount does not build up; what a month does not use lapses. It reduces neither allowance nor services.
Where health insurance takes over
The care fund pays only where health insurance or another body is not responsible because of illness or disability. Wheelchairs and walking aids prescribed by a doctor are covered by health insurance. Because the boundary is hard to draw in daily life, the law offers a simple route: whichever fund receives the application checks whether health or care insurance is responsible and decides (section 40(5) SGB XI). Sending it to the “wrong” fund is therefore not a mistake.
The quickest way to an aid
Recent reforms created three short cuts. First, if the Medical Service recommends aids in the care grade assessment, the recommendation counts as an application with the person’s consent and the need is treated as confirmed (BMG). Second, a registered nurse (Pflegefachperson) can make a specific recommendation during visits, for example at the advice visit. If it accompanies the application and is no older than 2 weeks, the need is presumed under the guidelines of section 17a SGB XI and no doctor’s prescription is required (section 40(6)). Third, the deadline: 3 weeks, or 5 weeks with a nurse or the Medical Service involved. Without a reasoned written notice the application counts as approved once it expires (section 40(7)).
Grant for a bathroom, stairlift or doors
Grant from the fund
€4,180
| Cap | €4,180 |
| you pay | €3,320 |
When an aid is not enough
Sometimes the answer is building work rather than a device: a level-access shower instead of a bath, a stairlift, wider doors. A separate grant of up to €4,180 per measure covers this, the home adaptation grant, with the same 3 and 5 week deadlines. People at grade 1 are entitled to both; aids and the adaptation grant are among the few benefits at that grade (care grade 1).
On digital help: apps and web applications listed in the directory of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) are not paid under section 40 but under a separate entitlement, explained under digital care apps.
Checklist for the application
- At the Medical Service home visit, raise the need for aids openly and agree that recommendations are forwarded as an application.
- For further items, get a nurse’s recommendation and submit it with an informal application within 2 weeks.
- Note the date of receipt and follow up after 3 weeks if no decision has arrived.
- For consumables, choose a supplier that bills the care fund and match the quantity to the monthly allowance.