Home care is a matter close to the hearts of many relatives. However, more and more certain care aids are needed for consumption, such as disposable gloves, bed protection pads or hand and surface disinfectants. If you have a care degree, the statutory health insurance companies will cover the costs of up to €40. 

What are care aids?

Consumable care aids are products that can generally only be used once due to their material or for hygienic reasons. These are expressly not suitable for reuse. Care insurance covers products that are used for basic care at home. These include, for example, absorbent bed protection pads (both disposable bed protection pads and washable bed protection pads), disinfectants for hands and surfaces, protective gloves and disposable protective aprons or face masks. These products fall under the GKV's list of medical aids and are listed there. You will also find other aids under category 54. To apply for suitable care aids, click here: Order care aids.

Your legal entitlement

Care aids can only be received free of charge from the long-term care insurance fund by people who receive outpatient care, for example in their own home, an assisted living facility or an assisted living care community. In addition, there must be a recognized care degree. In the case of care in a nursing home, the nursing home or health insurance company is responsible for providing aids. 

If the following criteria are met, you can apply for free care aids for consumption worth up to 40 euros per month in accordance with § 78 Para. 1 in conjunction with § 40 Para. 2 SGB XI:

- There is a recognized care degree (class 1 to 5).

- The person in need of care lives at home, in a shared flat or in a

  facility for assisted living and is cared for from there.

- Home care is provided with the support of private individuals (relatives, neighbors, etc.).

In the case of privately insured persons, an invoice is sent directly to the person in need of care together with the delivery of the care aids. The invoice is then simply submitted to the care insurance fund by the insured person.

The application process

An application must be submitted in order to receive care aids worth 40 euros for consumption. To ensure that everything is approved quickly and easily by the care insurance fund, it is advisable to have this done by an aid provider. Once you have entered your details, the application process is completely automatic. You can find out more about this here.

Change provider

If you already have a contract with a service provider, you can change it at any time. Your new provider will also support you in this process. The care insurance companies require a so-called service provider change form. You can find a change form here, for example. 

It is also possible to replace individual products. It is important that the products are adapted to the individual care needs.

Where can care aids be obtained?

Once the care insurance fund has approved the aids you have applied for, you have various options for receiving the products. The most convenient way is a monthly delivery directly to your home.

This eliminates the often arduous trip to a supplier. All products you order are always delivered to you free of charge.

You can also find more information about care aids here

Duration until approval

A decision on the application is usually made within one to two weeks of the application being submitted. This is regulated in § 13 Para. 3a SGB V and means:

• A decision on the application must be available within 3 weeks at the latest
• If the MDK (Medical Service of the Health Insurance Fund) is consulted, the deadline is extended to 5 weeks
• If the deadline of 3 or max. 5 weeks is not met, the health insurance fund is obliged to explain the reasons in writing
• the MDK has a period of 3 weeks to issue a statement
• after expiry of all deadlines or deadline extensions without a response from the health insurance fund, the application is deemed to have been approved
• The person in need of care should now set another deadline for the health insurance company and point out that they will procure the aid themselves once the deadline has expired.
• By law, health insurance companies are obliged to reimburse costs if all the necessary requirements are met

Apply for a care degree

If you do not yet have a care degree, a call to the care insurance fund is usually sufficient. It is even better to write an informal letter. The long-term care insurance fund will then send you all the necessary forms directly. In this case, the applicant is always the person in need of care. They must complete the forms or at least sign them. If there is a health care proxy or a care directive, the persons of trust named therein can also submit the applications. The long-term care insurance fund must inform you in writing within five weeks (25 working days) of the application whether or not a care degree will be recognized. If they miss this deadline, the applicant is entitled to compensation of 70 euros for each week that it takes longer. If the long-term care insurance fund rejects the application, you can lodge an appeal within one month.