How do you apply for a degree of care?
There are several ways to apply for a degree of care. You can call the nursing care insurance fund with which the person in need of care is insured. The nursing care insurance companies are generally located with the health insurance companies.
If the person concerned is insured with the AOK, you can call the AOK and have yourself connected to the nursing care insurance company by telephone. You can also send a letter to the nursing insurance company. A very informal application to the nursing care insurance company is suitable for this purpose, which should include name, address, insured person number and, for example, the following sentence: “Hereby I, XY, apply for the benefits of the nursing care insurance and ask for a short-term assessment.
“. The letter should be signed by the insured or his or her authorized representative and sent by post to the health insurance company, which will then forward the application to the nursing insurance company. In addition, many cities have so-called care support points, where you can pick up an application for a degree of care directly.
First of all, the nursing care insurance company is contacted (by telephone, mail or on site) to make an application for a degree of nursing care. Normally, the nursing care insurance company will then send you an application form which you must fill in and return. It is essential that the application for the benefits of the care insurance fund is signed, either personally or by the legal representative of the person in need of care.
The application is very detailed and should be filled out thoroughly.One should consider whether measures to improve the living environment can be helpful. This service, for example for a barrier-free environment (toilets, stair lift or similar) is allowed once for up to 4. 000€.
A home emergency call or nursing aids can also be permitted and, if necessary, requested by you (in some cases only possible from care level 3). Everything that can help the person in need of care should be mentioned and applied for. After the application has been made, you can prepare for the visit of the MDK.
It is best to keep a nursing diary to clearly inform the assessor about what care is needed. It is useful to give concrete examples of daily situations so that the person in need of care is actually classified into the level of care he or she requires. There is an assessment procedure, the New Assessment Assessment (NBA), with which the assessors of the nursing care insurance funds examine various aspects of the need for care. Physical, mental and cognitive impairments are examined in six modules, which are included in the NBA to varying degrees:
- Mobility (10%)
- Cognitive and communication skills
- Behaviour and psychological problems (2 + 3 = 15%)
- Self-sufficiency (40%): personal hygiene, nutrition, etc.
- Coping with and independent handling of disease-related or therapy-related stress (20%)
- Organization of everyday life and social contacts (15%)
A care level calculator is used to determine the degree of care needed based on personal information. It can serve as a first estimate or orientation as to how much care allowance would be possible.
