The new definition of the need for long-term care is intended to do better justice to the special need for help and care of people with mental and cognitive disabilities, such as those suffering from dementia. The preferential regulation was adopted as a formulation aid for an amendment by the government factions to the draft of the Prevention Act. The new assessment guidelines are to be approved by the Federal Ministry of Health after PSG II is available.
Trial studies on the new definition of the need for long-term care
In the spring of 2014, two pilot studies were commissioned, which were handed over to the monitoring committee on April 28, 2015 and are now being examined before publication.
The “Practicability study on the introduction of the new assessment assessment (NBA) to determine the need for care according to SGB XI” was intended to identify possible problems with the assessment at an early stage so that any necessary changes and adjustments can be made before the new term is introduced. This study was carried out by the medical service of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds in Essen with the participation of the University of Health in Bochum. The sample in the project included a total of 2,000 people in need of care throughout Germany, who were assessed using the new and currently valid procedure. All medical services of the health insurance companies in Germany took part in the project.
The “Evaluation of the NBA – recording of care expenses in inpatient facilities” taking place parallel to this was intended to determine indications for future benefit levels for each degree of care depending on the care effort. In the study carried out by the University of Bremen with the participation of the University of Applied Sciences in Wolfsburg, in cooperation with the medical services of the health insurance companies nationwide, the services they receive today were recorded for almost 1,600 people in around 40 nursing homes.
The work on the two pilot studies was accompanied by an accompanying committee, the representative of the BMG, the BMAS, the BMFSFJ, the care agent of the Federal Government State Secretary Karl-Josef Laumann, representatives of the GKV-Spitzenverband and actors from science, the federal states, service provider organizations, associations of those affected, belong to the German Nursing Council and the nursing care insurance funds.