Aids make care at home easier and safer – from a disposable glove to a stairlift. For Pflegehilfsmittel (consumable care aids) the Pflegekasse (long-term care insurance fund) pays up to 42 Euro a month, while technical aids such as a care bed are usually provided on loan. For conversions in the home there is a grant of up to 4.180 Euro per measure (as at July 2026).

Details

With aids, two different insurance funds pay – and that is the most common source of confusion and of rejected applications:

• The Pflegekasse pays for Pflegehilfsmittel (care aids) under § 40 SGB XI. This requires a Pflegegrad (care grade) and care at home. Examples: disposable gloves, bed protection pads, a care bed, an emergency call system, conversions.
• The Krankenkasse (health insurance fund) pays for Hilfsmittel (medical aids) under § 33 SGB V where they compensate for a disability or make a treatment possible. Examples: a walking frame, a wheelchair, a hearing aid, a prosthesis, incontinence supplies where medically necessary. For these you need a doctor’s prescription.

If in doubt: see the doctor first, get a prescription, then apply to the Krankenkasse. If it turns you down because the item is a Pflegehilfsmittel, it will pass the application on – you do not have to start again.

Consumable care aids: 42 Euro a month

For products that get used up, the Pflegekasse pays a flat rate of up to 42 Euro per month (as at July 2026) – with no co-payment, from Pflegegrad 1, where care takes place at home. These include, among other things:

• disposable gloves
• bed protection pads (single-use or reusable)
• disinfectant for hands and surfaces
• protective aprons
• face masks

You have two options: a supplier delivers a ready-made box each month and bills the Pflegekasse directly – or you buy the items yourself and submit the receipts. A single, informal application is enough; many Pflegekassen have a one-page form for it. Monthly amounts you do not claim cannot be saved up.

Technical care aids

A care bed, a bed pull-up handle (Bettgalgen), an emergency call system, positioning aids or a shower stool count as technical care aids. In principle the Pflegekasse covers the full cost. If an item is bought, insured people aged 18 and over make a co-payment of 10 per cent, up to a maximum of 25 Euro per aid. If the aid is provided on loan – the norm for larger equipment – there is no co-payment at all. So always ask about a loan first.

Hausnotruf (home emergency call system)

A home emergency call system is subsidised if there is at least Pflegegrad 1 and the person lives mainly alone, or the people they live with would not be able to fetch help in an emergency. The Pflegekasse’s monthly subsidy was raised from 25,50 Euro to 27,00 Euro on 1 April 2026; there is also a one-off connection fee. If the provider charges more, you pay the difference yourself – prices vary considerably, so it is worth comparing.

Improving the home: up to 4.180 Euro

For measures that make living and being cared for at home easier, the Pflegekasse pays a grant of up to 4.180 Euro per measure (as at July 2026). Where several people entitled to the grant live together – in a Pflege-Wohngemeinschaft (shared care flat), for example – up to 16.720 Euro is possible. Typical measures:

• a level-access shower instead of a bath
• grab rails, ramps, wider doorways
• a stairlift
• adapting the kitchen or the lighting
• technical assistance systems such as an automatic cooker cut-out or motion detectors, where they help with care or with independence

Important: apply first, then build. If you start beforehand, you risk being turned down. Submit a quotation and a short explanation of why the measure makes care easier. If the care situation later changes significantly, a further grant for another measure is possible. You will find more on conversions and forms of housing under Housing & forms of housing.

Digitale Pflegeanwendungen (DiPA – digital care applications)

For some years now there have been approved digital applications for people in need of care, for example apps for memory training, fall prevention or organising care. The Pflegekasse pays up to 40 Euro a month for these, plus up to 30 Euro for supplementary support services provided by a care service (as at July 2026). The condition is that the application has been included in the official register.

Limiting co-payments

Co-payments for aids provided by the health insurance fund are capped at two per cent of annual gross income, and at one per cent for people with a chronic illness. Collect all your co-payment receipts for the year and apply for the exemption – it makes a noticeable difference.

What to do

1. Write down what you need. Go through a typical day in your mind: where is it unsafe, where is it too hard? That gives you your list.
2. Apply for consumable care aids. A phone call to the Pflegekasse or a short form is enough – this is the quickest success and it applies from Pflegegrad 1.
3. Get a doctor’s prescription for everything with a medical justification (walking frame, wheelchair, incontinence supplies). The diagnosis should be stated on the prescription.
4. Get advice before any conversion. Housing advice centres show you solutions you would not think of yourself and help with the quotation. Only then submit the application.
5. Ask about a loan. A care bed, a wheelchair or a hoist is usually available on loan – with no co-payment.
6. Lodge an appeal if you are turned down. You have one month. A short explanation plus a statement from a doctor or a care professional is often enough. The Pflegestützpunkt (care support point) will help you word it.

Where can you get help?

• Housing advice and advice on aids in Berlin and Brandenburg can be found in the directory under Directory in the category „Wohnraumanpassung & Hilfsmittel“ (home adaptation & aids).
• Pflegestützpunkte (36 in Berlin, 19 with 27 branch offices in Brandenburg) give free advice on applications, grants and appeals: Find an advice centre.
• Medical supply shops and care services advise you on the choice – ask to be shown several models and insist on being shown how to use them.
• Care courses and information events show in practice how aids can save your back: See dates.

All amounts: as at July 2026 (source: Bundesministerium für Gesundheit, overview of benefit rates 2026). Legal basis: § 40 SGB XI, § 33 SGB V, § 40a SGB XI.