Household Assistance for Those with Public Health Insurance
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- Medical certificate confirming the necessity and duration of domestic help
The home help usually settles the costs directly with your health insurance company. If you are over 18 years of age, you will have to make an additional payment for each day of home help. The co-payment is 10 percent of the costs, but at least EUR 5.00 and at most EUR 10.00 per day.
The statutory co-payment does not apply if you are exempt from the statutory co-payment obligation.
Simply explained
If you have statutory health insurance, you can receive support from a home help in certain cases. You can apply for household help from your health insurance fund if, for example
- because of hospital treatment,
- medical care for mothers or fathers or
- due to medical rehabilitation
temporarily unable to continue running your household yourself.
You are entitled to household help if
-
a child lives in your household who
- is younger than 12 years of age at the start of the home help or
- disabled and dependent on help,
- there is no other person living in the household who can manage the household.
This entitlement to household help is not limited in time.
Under certain conditions, you can also receive temporary home help if you
- are recovering at home from an operation, therapy or a serious illness,
- there is no other person living in the household who can take care of the household,
- you are not in need of long-term care - in this case, however, household help may be available to care for a child living in the household
The home help will support you for a maximum of 4 weeks. If you have a child living with you who has not yet reached the age of twelve at the start of home help or who is disabled and dependent on help, you are entitled to up to 26 weeks.
Some statutory health insurance funds also pay household help in other cases or if you have older children. You can find out more in the statutes of your statutory health insurance fund.
You must always apply to your health insurance fund for home help before claiming it. You will need a doctor's certificate to apply to your health insurance fund. In this certificate, your doctor confirms the need for domestic help and states the extent and duration of the domestic help you are likely to need. The doctor should also state the date from which the need for assistance arises and which illness-related impairments are present.
If your statutory health insurance fund approves your application, it can arrange a home help from a care service or a comparable organization. If the health insurance company cannot provide domestic help or if there is a reason not to do so, you can organize the domestic help yourself and receive a reasonable reimbursement of the costs.
If your parents, siblings or other close relatives up to the 2nd degree help you in the household, your health insurance company cannot reimburse them. However, it can reimburse travel costs and, in some cases, loss of earnings. Please contact your statutory health insurance fund for more information.
What requirements must be met?
You must meet the following requirements if you are applying for household help during a stay in hospital, medical care for mothers or fathers or due to medical rehabilitation:
- You have statutory health insurance.
- You have received a medical certificate confirming the necessity and duration of the home help.
-
There is a child living in your household who
- is younger than 12 years of age at the start of the home help or
- disabled and dependent on help.
- There is no other person living in your household who could continue to run it.
You must meet the following requirements if you need household help for 4 weeks due to a serious illness, after a stay in hospital or after an operation to apply for household help for 4 weeks:
- You have statutory health insurance.
- You are not in need of care with care level 2, 3, 4 or 5 (note: in this case, however, home help for the care of the child may be possible).
- You have received a medical certificate confirming the necessity and duration of the home help.
- There is no other person living in the household who could continue to do so.
-
The entitlement is extended to up to 26 weeks if
-
a child lives in your household who
- is younger than 12 years of age at the start of the home help or
- disabled and dependent on help.
-
a child lives in your household who
Frequently asked questions and answers
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