Demand for long-term care in Germany has 'exploded' in recent years

The number of people in need of medical care in Germany rose much faster than expected last year, according to Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.

"For demographic reasons, an increase of only around 50,000 people would have been expected in 2023. But the increase is actually over 360,000," Lauterbach, a Social Democrat (SPD), told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland news agency on Monday.

"We don't yet understand exactly why this is the case," Lauterbach said, but there is "an acute problem" in long-term care insurance.

"The number of people in need of care has exploded in recent years," said Lauterbach.

The minister said the issues confronting the long-term care system potentially stem from two generations - the baby boomers and their parents - both seeking care at the same time.

Researchers have previously forecast that the number of people in need of care in Germany would grow from around 5 million today to more than 6 million within the next 15 years, although figures vary greatly by region due to demographic trends.

According to a February forecast from the Federal Statistical Office, there will be a shortage of between 280,000 and 690,000 workers in the care sector nationwide by 2049.

That will put an immense strain on Germany's long-term care insurance system, Lauterbach said. Current contributions alone cannot maintain the level of benefits.

Last July, Germany's centre-left coalition government decided to increase contributions for those without children to 4% and for those with one child to 3.4%.

At the beginning of May, company health insurance funds sounded the alarm after projections showed that the long-term care insurance system is facing a deficit of €1 billion ($1.1 billion) this year and €4.4 billion by 2025.