Do you have health-related limitations that affect your independence or abilities, and are you therefore dependent on help from others? If so, under certain circumstances, you may be entitled to long-term care assistance.

If you have long-term care insurance, your local long-term care insurance fund or your private long-term care insurance company—which administers the mandatory private long-term care insurance—is initially responsible for covering your long-term care costs. However, depending on the type of service, the long-term care insurance will only cover costs up to certain maximum limits.

If you are unable to cover the remaining costs, social assistance benefits, such as long-term care assistance, may be available.

You may also be eligible for long-term care assistance even if you have no entitlement to benefits under long-term care insurance—for example, if you are not covered by long-term care insurance or if your need for care is expected to last less than 6 months.

The need for care may result from physical, cognitive, or mental impairments, or from health-related stresses or demands that you cannot independently compensate for or manage.

You submit the application for long-term care assistance to your local social assistance agency.

• If your long-term care insurance fund has already determined your care level, the social assistance agency is bound by that decision. This is contingent on the decision being based on facts that must be taken into account in both determinations.
• If the long-term care insurance fund has not yet made a decision regarding your care level, the social assistance agency may take action on its own if there is an urgent need. The social assistance agency may commission other experts or the Medical Service to assist in making its decision.

You will receive long-term care assistance only if your income and assets—and those of your spouse or domestic partner—are insufficient, after covering living expenses and other general needs, to cover the uncovered costs of long-term care yourself. Children and parents who are legally obligated to provide support are only required to reimburse costs if their annual gross income exceeds 100,000 EUR.

You are entitled to the following benefits under the long-term care assistance program:

In Care Level 1:

• Care aids
• Measures to improve the living environment
• Digital care applications
• Supplementary support for using digital care applications
• Relief amount

For care levels 2 through 5:

• Home care in the form of:
  • Care allowance
  • Home care assistance
  • Respite care
  • Care aids
  • Measures to improve the living environment
  • Other services
  • Digital care applications
  • Supplementary support for using digital care applications
• Partial-residential care, meaning temporary care during the day or at night in a day care or night care facility
• Short-term care, meaning temporary full-time inpatient care when care is generally provided at home
• Respite allowance
• Residential care, meaning long-term, full-time residential care

The responsible authority will review your documents. If the relevant requirements are met, you will be granted long-term care assistance.