With the help of a recently passed law, the nursing care insurance funds will provide financial support to the 11,700 homes and 15,000 nursing services, as Gernot Kiefer, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the central association of statutory health insurance companies, explained just now, so that the care of the four million people in need of care throughout Germany is secured in the current corona crisis. Due to corona-related additional costs that are covered by the nursing care insurance in the form of a nursing care rescue parachute, people receiving outpatient care and residents of nursing homes whose care is covered by the rescue parachute are, particularly at risk. The protective equipment of the nursing staff is particularly important and cost-intensive, because breathing masks, disposable gloves and disinfectants lead to additional costs, but also the installation of airlocks and the isolation of people in inpatient facilities causes additional costs of calculated 280 million euros for seven months. Replacement in the event of employee absences is also included in the calculation because wage costs can be incurred in addition to the permanent staff, which amount to 3,300 euros per month per employee who is absent due to the replacement of another nurse. It is important that normal operations can be maintained to a large extent. Financial support is also to be provided to clinics that are experiencing financial problems due to the virus. Daycare facilities, many of which are currently closed, can borrow their nursing staff to help out in other nursing homes. Their existence will also be guaranteed by legal assurances of help as long as these facilities are closed. Special regulations in the Corona crisis also apply to the nursing TÜV, which will initially be suspended until September, thereby helping to reduce the workload of nursing home staff. A temporary lifting of the lower personnel limits also applies, while at the same time the originally agreed remuneration arrangements are continued.
