Home help, care degree and meals on wheels
If the basics like cleaning and cooking are difficult, you need support. What should you look out for when buying meals on wheels? And what if money is tight? In this guide for seniors, you can find out how to deal with this and what you can use the relief amount from the long-term care insurance fund for.
Renate Pangritz works in the senior citizens' office of Arbeiter Wohlfahrt and takes care of the special senior citizens' service "Meals on Wheels". The delicious hot menus and/or self-heating frozen meals are a great help for older people. They save a lot of shopping, standing at the cooker for a long time and washing the dishes afterwards. All you have to do is pick up the dish at the front door.
Welfare organisations are usually the delivery agents for the countless private menu providers. Special dietary requirements, such as special diets or vegetarian food, but also special diets for diabetics are no longer a problem. Some providers work together with regional canteen kitchens and only deliver the menus.
If you are considering having your food delivered, it is worthwhile to think about what is important to you beforehand and then compare the providers. Take a look at this video [1], in which Renate Pangritz gives a short and concise account of the requirements, costs and procedures of Meals on Wheels.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
The Meals on Wheels service for senior citizens at a glance
| Advantages and Benefits | Disadvantages | Impact of Food on Räders and Providers |
|---|---|---|
| • Economising for several days in advance is possible with some suppliers using frozen food | • Sometimes too fatty and too salty | • Fire risk due to forgotten hot plates removed |
How to find the right Meals on Wheels for you
A good provider combines quality in terms of health and enjoyment with flexibility and reliability. They should also help their seniors by offering advice over the phone. Here are some guidelines on how to proceed.
First of all, ask neighbours and friends which service is popular in your area. 2.
2. then ask them about your desired or dietary menus first.
If they are available, find out exactly what the menu delivery service charges. For example, delivery is not always included. 4.
Then weigh up the usually cheaper longer terms against the more expensive short notice periods. 5.
Clarify how flexibly orders can be changed. 6.
6. when you order, make an effort to put together a varied meal in order to prevent malnutrition.
Who pays for this senior citizen assistance for me?
Unfortunately, the health insurance funds do not pay for meals on wheels. However, people with low pensions, low incomes or Hartz IV who are no longer able to cook for themselves can apply to the social welfare office for a subsidy for a meal service. However, they must prove the reasons for not being able to cook any more. If you are not registered with the social welfare office, you must also prove your income and assets. On the basis of these documents, a decision will be made about a subsidy for the meal service.
I also need domestic help. Are there any subsidies for this?
In addition to free meals, household help is an enormous relief for older people. With the relief amount of € 125 from care level 1, for example, household help can also be financed through the long-term care insurance fund. However, this relief amount is a benefit in kind. The long-term care insurance funds therefore only pay for household help for older people with recognised providers. However, the care services that are recognised by the insurance fund charge between 25 and 50 € per hour, so that, in contrast to hiring a domestic helper on a freelance basis, only very few hours can be used.
The procedure for using this €125 for home help is as follows:
- Look for a recognised social centre or a care service that is allowed to invoice the domestic help directly to the care insurance fund. For this, a declaration of withdrawal must be agreed between the social centre and the senior citizen with at least care level 1.
- Alternatively, you can submit the invoice of the care service to the long-term care insurance fund yourself and get the money reimbursed.
If you have been entitled to the relief amount for some time, apply for a retroactive crediting of unused relief amounts from the previous year! This is possible by law, and in principle from the time you receive care level 1. This can add up to a nice sum, which you can use, for example, to have someone come clean for 3 hours a week and not just once a month. Invoices that have already been paid can also be submitted retrospectively, but only if they come from a social centre recognised by the long-term care insurance fund. When applying retroactively for the relief amounts, make sure to do so by the middle of the current year, otherwise your unused entitlements from the previous year will expire.
As an alternative to household help, these relief amounts can also help those seniors who need day care or short-term care. To a certain extent, they can also be used for preventive care. You can use them to top up these benefits, which are also in short supply].
Where can I find good advice for seniors and concrete support?
In addition to assistance with cleaning and meals, help may be needed, for example, with moving house or looking for a flat. You may need financial advice, legal advice or referral to helpful services such as shopping services, travel offers for seniors or a home emergency call.
Of course, all services for seniors have their price. Therefore, we recommend that you first go to a counselling centre for seniors to find out about the possibilities. You can find these counselling centres in the public administrations of your municipality and also at the district level. Here you can get competent, independent and free advice. The senior counsellors at the so-called IAV offices (information, contact and referral offices) are usually happy to provide their older fellow citizens with detailed advice and assistance. They can inform you in detail about the local conditions and, if necessary, also arrange the first contact. You can usually find the exact contact details in the local newspaper or at the town hall.
Conclusion
Don't be afraid to explore all the possibilities that could make your life easier. Ask for free information about home help, meal services and other services for seniors at a seniors' counselling centre in your city. For further concerns, it may also be worthwhile to take a look at the federal level, where there is the Federal Association of Senior Citizens' Organisations, whose range of topics is extremely broad. It provides contact points for the most diverse concerns.
Sources & Notes
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJaEtFp-3jc
https://www.pflege.de/leben-im-alter/dienstleistungen/essen-auf-raedern/
https://www.pflegegeld-info.de/entlastungsbetrag-125-haushaltshilfe/
Pflege zu Hause - Ratgeber für die häusliche Pflege from the Federal Ministry of Health, brochure
