Digital care apps in Germany: applications the care fund pays for
Memory exercises, training for safe walking, help for the daughter who provides care: which applications are refunded and what the family pays itself.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Digital care app: what the fund covers
Fund pays per month
€60
| App (up to €40) | €40 |
| Support (up to €30) | €20 |
| you pay | €5 |
Digital care applications (digitale Pflegeanwendungen, DiPA) are apps, web applications or programs that people needing care use alone or together with relatives or a care service to reduce limitations on their independence or slow a worsening of their condition (section 40a of Book XI of the German Social Code, SGB XI). Since 1 July 2026, applications that support family carers and stabilise care at home or relieve the carers also count. Only applications in the directory kept by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) are paid for. Once the care fund approves them, it refunds up to €40 a month for the applications and up to €30 a month for additional support from a registered home care service, so at most €70 together (section 40b). The family pays any extra: if an app costs €55, €15 remains to be paid. The entitlement starts at care grade 1. The first approval is limited to at most 6 months; the fund then checks whether the application is used and works, and approves it indefinitely without a new application.
What a digital care app is
The law describes these as applications based essentially on digital technology, used by people needing care themselves or together with relatives, volunteers or a registered care service, to reduce impairments of independence or abilities or to counteract a worsening of the need for care (section 40a SGB XI). The Federal Ministry of Health names care apps, browser-based web applications and software for ordinary computers, and mentions applications for maintaining mobility or for dementia (BMG, digital care applications).
| Counts as a DiPA | Does not count |
|---|---|
| applications that reduce limitations on independence | applications for general living needs or general lifestyle |
| applications that counteract a worsening of the need for care | software for organising the work of care services |
| since 1 July 2026: applications that support family carers and stabilise care at home or relieve them | pure knowledge transfer, information or communication |
| medical devices only in a low risk class | applications for applying for or managing benefits, or pure advice on social benefits |
The right-hand column explains many refusals. A calendar app for care appointments, a family messenger or a guide to care insurance benefits may be useful, but none is a digital care application. Only applications aimed specifically at independence, at the course of the need for care or, since July 2026, at relieving carers are refunded.
The BfArM directory
The entitlement covers only applications that the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices has included in the directory of digital care applications; it takes effect from the date the parties agreed for the price arrangement (section 40a(2)). The institute examines inclusion at the manufacturer’s request, runs an electronic application portal for manufacturers and provides a procedural guide, currently dated 15 July 2026 (BfArM, DiPA). For families this means: check the directory before applying to see whether the application you want is listed, and give its exact name in the application.
What the fund pays
| App price | Support price | Fund pays for app | Fund pays for support | You pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €30 | €0 | €30 | €0 | €0 |
| €40 | €30 | €40 | €30 | €0 |
| €55 | €20 | €40 | €20 | €15 |
| €40 | €45 | €40 | €30 | €15 |
| €70 | €50 | €40 | €30 | €50 |
Both limits apply “in total”, so to all approved applications together. Anyone using two applications shares the €40. The two budgets cannot be swapped: an unused support amount does not raise the refund for the app. The fund must tell you in accessible form which costs you bear yourself, for the application as well as for the support (section 40b(2)).
Care aids: what you pay yourself
Your share in total
€38
| Consumables above the allowance | €13 |
| Co-payment for the technical aid | €25 |
Application, trial period, permanent approval
| Step | What happens | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| application | the person needing care applies; the fund decides whether the app is necessary | section 40a(2), 2nd sentence |
| first approval | time-limited, at most 6 months | section 40a(2), 3rd and 4th sentences |
| review | is the application used and does it achieve its purpose? The fund may ask the person | section 40a(2), 5th and 6th sentences |
| permanent approval | no time limit, no new application | section 40a(2), 7th sentence |
| provision | the manufacturer supplies it accessibly by download, data carrier or platform | section 40a(4) |
The trial period matters. If the app is hardly opened after approval, the fund may not grant permanent approval. So plan the start: who sets the application up, who practises with your parent in the first weeks, and when do you check whether it helps? That is exactly what support from a care service is meant for, particularly when the family lives far away.
Support from a care service
When using an approved application, there is an entitlement to additional support from registered home care services (section 39a SGB XI), up to €30 a month. The ministry stresses that this help is provided at the wish of the person needing care. It is most useful when nobody in the family can help with the technology or when exercises should be guided by a professional. It does not replace the services budget and is not set against it: other entitlements under care insurance law remain unaffected (section 40a(3)).
New since July 2026: applications for relatives
Since 1 July 2026, applications that support family carers or other volunteer carers and either stabilise care at home or relieve the carers also count (section 40a(1a)). For a son who shares the care from another city or from abroad, this is an important opening: the law speaks expressly of use together with relatives. Whether a particular application also runs on a relative’s phone abroad is up to the manufacturer, so ask before you apply.
How it differs from other benefits
The entitlement exists only where health insurance or another body is not responsible because of illness or disability. Digital applications that treat an illness may therefore be a matter for health insurance. Devices such as a personal alarm do not fall under section 40a but count as technical care aids. At care grade 1, digital care applications are listed expressly among the benefits (section 28a SGB XI), which makes them particularly valuable there.
Checklist
- Check the BfArM directory to see whether the application is listed, and note its name and monthly price.
- Apply to the care fund and ask for the written information on your own share of the cost.
- Clarify whether a care service will help with setting up and the first exercises.
- Use the application regularly during the first 6 months so that the review for permanent approval succeeds.