Applying for short-term care

Up to the combined annual budget of €3,539 – which it shares with respite care, however. § 42 SGB XI has stopped naming an amount of its own since July 2025 and instead refers to “an amount equal to the combined annual budget under § 42a”. So if you have already made use of respite care in the current year, correspondingly less is available. Therefore ask your Pflegekasse about the remaining amount before committing to a stay. References to €1,774 relate to the old system with two separate budgets, which applied until June 2025.

Accommodation, meals and investment costs – and this is the item that surprises most people. The care portion is covered from the combined annual budget; the stay as such remains a personal contribution, similar to a stay in a care home. How much it comes to depends entirely on the facility, which is why we do not give a figure here: ask for a cost estimate in which the care portion, accommodation and meals, and investment costs are shown separately. You can reduce the personal contribution with the Entlastungsbetrag of €131 a month, which can be used for short-term care, and with the half-rate Pflegegeld that continues to be paid during the stay.

Possibly yes, but from a different fund. § 39c SGB V provides for short-term care in the absence of need for long-term care, borne by the Krankenkasse – and expressly only “if no need for long-term care with Pflegegrad 2, 3, 4 or 5 … has been established”. It comes into consideration when home nursing care is not sufficient because of a serious illness or acute deterioration, especially after a hospital stay. The flip side is important: anyone who already has Pflegegrad 2 or higher cannot receive this benefit in addition – it is the alternative, not a second pot. Duration and amount are governed by § 42 Abs. 2 SGB XI.

A third, again different benefit – and the shortest. § 39e SGB V grants insured persons an entitlement to transitional care “following hospital treatment, for no longer than ten days”, provided in the hospital itself or in a cross-sector care facility. It is expressly a fallback provision: it applies only if home nursing care, short-term care, rehabilitation or benefits under SGB XI “cannot be provided, or only with considerable effort”. It is borne by the Krankenkasse; insured persons aged 18 and over pay a daily co-payment (Zuzahlung) for no longer than 28 days per calendar year. Speak to the hospital's social services team about this if nothing else can be arranged after discharge.

Yes, and that is exactly what the shared pot is for. Both benefits are financed from the same combined annual budget of €3,539, and § 42a SGB XI provides for no fixed split – you decide how much goes to which. Both are additionally limited to eight weeks per calendar year each. In practice this means: if you have used respite care by the hour in spring and need short-term care in autumn, one eats into the other. So keep an eye on how much has been used and ask about the remaining balance before longer stays – this is the most important practical consequence of combining the two.

Early, and through several channels at once, because the place is the bottleneck, not the approval. Short-term care places are scarce; many facilities keep only a limited number available, or only seasonally, and they are in particular demand during holiday periods. Use the hospital's social services team when it comes to a discharge – it knows the free places in the region and takes on part of the organisation as part of discharge management. Also ask at the care support centre and directly at several facilities. If the stay can be planned, for instance for your own holiday, reserve weeks in advance.

Eight weeks per calendar year, as § 42 SGB XI expressly determines. This limit applies regardless of how much money is still left in the combined annual budget – time and money are two separate limits, and both must be observed. The eight weeks do not have to be taken all at once; several shorter stays within the same year are possible, as long as the total adds up. If the budget is not enough for the full eight weeks, you can finance the remaining time yourself or – if funds are lacking – apply to the Sozialamt (social welfare office) for care assistance under social assistance law (Hilfe zur Pflege).

It continues to be paid at half the rate, for the duration of the short-term care. So you do not lose it, and this half amount helps to cover the personal contribution for accommodation and meals – factor it into the financing. The same rule applies to respite care. Only with day care for people in need of long-term care (Tagespflege) is it even more favourable: there, § 41 SGB XI expressly determines that it is added “without this being offset against these entitlements” – the Pflegegeld then remains fully intact. The concern that every relief measure causes you to lose the Pflegegeld is unfounded in all three cases.