Berlin – November 05, 2026 -- Germany's Care Restructuring Act (PNOG) will take effect on January 1 even if lawmakers amend it, and outpatient care providers are already cutting staff because parts of their services will no longer be funded from that date, according to a commentary in nd.DieWoche.
Federal loan repayment is deferred to 2035 under the PNOG
The draft law postpones repayment of federal loans used to plug care insurance funding gaps until 2035. The commentary argues the deferral resolves none of the underlying care-provision problems and that the bill creates new ones. The CDU has responded that the draft will be improved during the parliamentary process.
Care recipients rush for 2027 grandfathering as providers cut jobs
People who need care, or expect to, are competing for assessment appointments this year so they fall under grandfathering protection in 2027. Outpatient services, mindful of notice periods, are reducing personnel now. The commentary says transition periods appear unavoidable, since the January 1 start date will hold regardless of later changes.
The draft is not expected to strengthen home care initially, and care arrangements are likely to become more complex and harder for recipients to understand. The commentary questions how much of the planned prevention push will survive.
Federal and state governments leave billion-euro financing questions open
The draft does not provide for repaying pandemic-era costs, which run to billions of euros, to the care insurance system. The states are also not scheduled to take over care home investment costs.