In short and in plain language
A home care service does many things. The care fund pays for some of them. The family pays for others itself.
The care fund only pays up to a fixed amount each month. If the family needs more care, it pays the rest. But the price is then the same as for the care fund.
Only for help that is not care under the law does the service set the price itself. The website then shows the full price. It also shows from when the price applies.
Before the contract, the service says what the care will cost. It usually writes this down. You can ask for such an overview on the website.
We help care services build such a page.
Many home care services offer more than the care insurance fund pays for: extra hours of housekeeping, escorts to appointments, companionship in the afternoon. On the website these offers often appear as a keyword only, the price is missing or sits in the download area as a scanned list. Anyone who cannot estimate the costs has to call to settle a question the page could have answered. Yet the framework is clearly regulated. The care service has to inform the person in need of care about the expected costs before the contract is concluded and with every material change, usually in writing (Section 120 (3) SGB XI). Anyone who advertises to consumers stating prices has to state the total prices (Section 3 (1) PAngV). And not every service the family pays for itself is freely priced: for home care assistance above the maximum amount, the service may not charge more than the remuneration agreed with the funding bodies (Section 120 (4) SGB XI). This article shows how a pricing page separates care fund benefits from private services, states total prices with a price date and offers the cost estimate as a request path.
Key takeaways
- A service the family pays for itself is not automatically freely priced: for home care assistance above the maximum amount, the remuneration agreed with the funding bodies is the upper limit (Section 120 (4) SGB XI).
- The monthly in-kind benefit covers up to 796 euros at care level 2 and up to 2,299 euros at care level 5 (SGB XI). The pricing page explains that additional services above it are charged privately at the contract price.
- Freely priced private services appear with a total price including any VAT, a unit of service and a highlighted total on the page (PAngV), plus a visible price date.
- Before the contract is concluded and with every material change, the care service informs about the expected costs, usually in writing (Section 120 (3) SGB XI). A "Request a cost estimate" button turns this into the request path.
- The price list belongs on the page as an HTML table, not as a scan: price information has to be clearly assigned to the offer and made easily recognizable and clearly legible (Section 1 (3) PAngV).
- Words like "free of charge" or "fixed price" without conditions are risky: providing material information in an unclear or ambiguous way also counts as withholding it (Section 5a (2) UWG).
Three price zones behind the word "private"
When relatives ask about costs, they mean the amount on their invoice at the end of the month. For the care service, this amount is made up of services that are treated very differently in law. People in need of care at care levels 2 to 5 who live at home are entitled to physical care measures and nursing support measures as well as help with running the household as an in-kind benefit (Section 36 (1) SGB XI). Housekeeping and companionship are therefore care fund benefits in the first place, not extras. The entitlement is capped per calendar month: at 796 euros at care level 2, 1,497 euros at care level 3, 1,859 euros at care level 4 and 2,299 euros at care level 5 (SGB XI).
This cap creates three zones that a pricing page has to keep apart. In the first zone, the care service addresses its remuneration claim directly to the care insurance fund (Section 120 (4) SGB XI); the family sees no invoice for this part. In the second zone, the family calls off more home care assistance than the maximum amount covers. It pays this part itself, but at the price the service has agreed with the funding bodies. Only the third zone contains services that are not home care assistance under SGB XI and for which no remuneration has been agreed. Only there does the service set its prices freely.
| Zone | Who pays | Price basis | What the website shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Care fund benefit within the budget | Care insurance fund, billed directly | Remuneration agreement under Section 89 SGB XI | Method of price calculation, service packages, reference to the cost estimate |
| Home care assistance above the maximum amount | Person in need of care | the same agreed remuneration (Section 120 (4) SGB XI) | Sentence stating that additional services are charged at the contract price |
| Services outside SGB XI | Person in need of care or relatives | price calculated by the service itself | Total price, unit of service, price date |
The distinction is not a formality. If the website shows its own hourly rate for "housekeeping beyond the budget" that is higher than the agreed remuneration, the service announces a price it may not charge under Section 120 (4) SGB XI. Conversely, a page that lumps all three zones together in a phrase like "prices on request" gives away trust. How relatives read cost information in general and which content they expect on a care website is described in Care Website: Content That Convinces Relatives.
Above the maximum amount, the contract price applies
The key sentence is in Section 120 SGB XI, which governs the care contract for home care. If the services called off exceed the maximum amount the care insurance fund has set by notice, the care service may not charge more for the additional services than the remuneration agreed under Section 89 (Section 120 (4) SGB XI). The provision covers home care assistance and the supplementary support services for digital care applications, which are exactly the services the provider also bills to the fund.
Where the services called off by the person in need of care under sentence 1 exceed the maximum benefit amount set by the care insurance fund by notice and payable by it, the care service may not charge the person in need of care more for the additionally called-off services than the remuneration agreed under Section 89.
A second rule fits in here. The remuneration for home care assistance is agreed between the operator of the care service and the funding bodies for all people in need of care according to uniform principles, and differentiating the remuneration by payer is not permitted (Section 89 (1) SGB XI). For the pricing page this means: a self-payer rate for services listed in the remuneration agreement is not a product of its own. It is the contract price, which the family pays itself only because the care fund budget for that month has been used up.
The remuneration agreement can take different forms. Remuneration may be based on the time required, on the content of the visit, on service packages or, in exceptional cases, on individual services; housekeeping, visits to authorities or travel costs may also be paid as flat rates (Section 89 (3) SGB XI). Whether a service bills help in the household per package, per minute or as a flat rate therefore follows from its own agreement. The website adopts this logic and does not invent a second one alongside it.
Housekeeping is a care fund benefit first
Relief amount and conversion: there is a limit there, too
Two further budgets of the long-term care insurance concern exactly the services that appear on pricing pages as private services. People in need of care living at home are entitled to a relief amount of up to 131 euros per month (SGB XI). Among other things, it refunds expenses for services of home care providers, but at care levels 2 to 5 not for services in the area of self-care (Section 45b (1) SGB XI). The remuneration charged for such services may not exceed the prices for comparable in-kind benefits of approved care facilities (Section 45b (4) SGB XI). Anyone advertising a service explicitly as "refundable through the relief amount" therefore also has a price limit.
In addition, people in need of care from care level 2 can use part of their in-kind benefit for everyday support services recognized under state law. The amount used for this may not exceed 40 percent (SGB XI) of the maximum benefit under Section 36 per calendar month (Section 45a (4) SGB XI). When the care contract is agreed, providing the information for using this conversion entitlement also has to be taken into account (Section 120 (3) SGB XI). A pricing page that points to both routes for everyday help answers the funding question before it is asked. How to explain such amounts on your own guide pages is shown in Relief Budget 2026: Guide Pages That Generate Enquiries.
What a home care service prices freely
That leaves the third zone. It contains services the provider offers alongside care that are not agreed as home care assistance. Which services these are is decided not by their name but by the provider's own remuneration agreement. If an activity is listed there as a service package, time-based service or flat rate, the contract price applies for people in need of care. If it is not listed, it is a private offer for which the service sets price and terms itself. For the pricing page, a line-by-line check before any amount goes online helps:
- Is the service listed in the remuneration agreement? Then it belongs in the care fund column, even if the family pays for it itself above the maximum amount.
- Is it to be refunded through the relief amount? Then the price may not exceed the prices of comparable in-kind benefits of approved care facilities (Section 45b (4) SGB XI).
- Is it an add-on with no link to the agreement? Then it goes in the "paid privately" column with total price, unit of service and price date.
- Who provides it? Home care assistance can also be provided in cooperation with providers of household-related services (Section 36 (4) SGB XI). The page then states who provides the service and who bills it.
- Who does the price apply to? If an offer applies only to people without a care level, the line says so, so that nobody transfers the price to a care fund benefit.
Candidates for the third zone are, depending on the agreement, escorts to leisure activities, help around house and garden that goes beyond running the household, or offers for people who do not receive long-term care insurance benefits. Whether a service is actually outside is clarified, if in doubt, by the association or a legal adviser; this article does not replace that check. Anyone offering care at night or over many hours will find the limits of presentation in Presenting Round-the-Clock Care Without Legal Risk.
Total price, unit, date: what the Price Indication Ordinance requires
As soon as a service names prices on its website, the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV) applies. It governs the indication of prices for goods or services offered by businesses to consumers (Section 1 (1) PAngV). Anyone offering services to consumers or advertising them stating prices has to state the total prices (Section 3 (1) PAngV). The total price is the price payable for a service including VAT and other price components (Section 2 PAngV). A travel fee that is charged on every visit without exception therefore does not belong in a footnote but in the total price; a worked example next to it can show how that price is made up.
Three further requirements shape the table. Where it is customary, the unit of service the price refers to has to be stated (Section 3 (2) PAngV); for care offers this is usually the hour, the visit or the month. If a price is broken down, the total price has to be highlighted (Section 3 (3) PAngV). And anyone obliged to give price information has to clearly assign it to the offer or advertisement and make it easily recognizable and clearly legible or otherwise easily perceptible (Section 1 (3) PAngV). Price information must also comply with the principles of price clarity and price accuracy (PAngV).
| How it often reads | What is missing | How it is clear |
|---|---|---|
| Housekeeping: price on request | Price and unit | Total price per hour, price date above the table |
| Escort: X euros plus travel and surcharges | A recognizable total price | Total price per visit highlighted, components below |
| Prices plus VAT | The final price | Total price including any VAT |
| Companionship: X euros | The unit of service | X euros per hour, minimum duration per visit stated |
| Price list as a scanned PDF file | Searchability, screen reader support, date | HTML table with column headers and price date |
The ordinance does not require a price date by that name. But it is the simplest way to keep prices accurate over time: a date above the table says from when the amounts apply and forces a deliberate update with every change. When a new remuneration agreement applies, the care fund column changes; when you change your private prices, the right-hand column changes. Both belong in a fixed maintenance routine for your website, so that no outdated amount is left standing.
Competition law also focuses on the price. If services are offered with reference to their features and price in such a way that an average consumer can conclude the transaction, for example through a booking function, the total price counts as material information; if it cannot be calculated in advance, the method of price calculation does (Section 5b (1) UWG). Providing material information in an unclear, unintelligible or ambiguous way also counts as withholding it (Section 5a (2) UWG). For the care fund column, the method of price calculation is the more honest statement: the co-payment depends on care level, visits and service packages and is only put into figures in the cost estimate, as an expected amount.
The cost estimate as the request path
For the part the page cannot put a figure on, SGB XI itself sets out the request path. The care contract has to describe separately at least the type, content and scope of the services, including the remuneration agreed with the funding bodies for each service or service package (Section 120 (3) SGB XI). And before that, the person in need of care has to be informed about the expected costs. The website does not have to fulfill these duties, that happens in the consultation and in the contract. But it can announce them and so turn them into the first step.
The care service has to inform the person in need of care about the expected costs before the contract is concluded and with every material change, usually in writing.
A "Request a cost estimate" button below the price table connects the two. It leads to a short form that only asks for what is needed for an initial assessment: the services wanted, the place of residence for the service area and a call-back route. The care level can be an optional field; diagnoses, medication or findings do not belong in an open web form. Which fields a care form really needs is described in Privacy on Care Websites: Secure Forms; what we implement technically for this is on the page privacy for care services.
- Request via the website. Services wanted, place of residence, call-back route, care level if the person wishes.
- Initial consultation. Clarify needs, frequency and wishes by phone or on a home visit; a fixed appointment route such as online appointment booking saves follow-up questions.
- Written cost estimate. Care fund share, co-payment at the contract price and private services with total price in separate sections.
- Care contract. It describes type, content and scope of the services with the agreed remuneration; if needs change materially, new cost information follows (Section 120 (3) SGB XI).
The page for people switching providers uses the same building block from a different direction; how it announces the estimate before the switch is shown in Switching care provider: a page that welcomes switchers. Anyone who wants to offer families a way to calculate the care fund share and co-payment before they get in touch will find the mechanics in Care Cost Calculator on Your Website Wins Enquiries. The pricing page adds what both leave out: the prices of services that do not run through the fund.
Building the pricing page: two columns, one date
The rules result in a structure that suits home care services. It fits as a section of its own on the services page or as a subpage "Prices and costs" linked from every service. Six building blocks carry it:
Introduction in two sentences
What the care fund covers, what is paid privately and that the cost estimate comes before the contract.
Column via the care fund
Method of price calculation by service packages, the note on the maximum amount per care level and the sentence on the contract price above it.
Column paid privately
Every private service with total price and unit of service, with a highlighted total where prices are broken down.
Price date above the table
A date from which the amounts apply, and a fixed date on which someone checks them against the agreement.
A worked example
A typical visit with all components, the total highlighted, without inventing amounts that do not exist in that form.
Request a cost estimate
A button below the table, a short form without health data as a mandatory field and a reply with an appointment.
The table belongs on the page as a real HTML table, with column headers that a screen reader announces. A scanned price list can neither be searched nor read aloud, and its date cannot be seen from outside. How a file becomes an accessible page is described in Accessible PDF downloads on a care service website; the requirements for the whole website are on our page on accessibility for care services.
For the care fund column, a reference to the public comparison list is worthwhile. The state associations of the care insurance funds compile a list of services and prices, update it once a quarter (SGB XI) and publish it on a website of their own (Section 7 (3) SGB XI). One sentence about it shows that the service does not hide its contract prices and saves keeping its own list of all service packages, which would go out of date with every remuneration round.
The worked example makes the total price tangible: two hours of escort including travel, the total in bold and first, the components below. This way the page meets the duty to highlight the total price when prices are broken down and answers a typical follow-up question at the same time. For the amounts themselves: only what the service actually charges goes on the page, with the date from which it applies.
Wording that avoids follow-up questions and trouble
Misunderstandings arise not only in the table but also in the text around it. The following five phrases sound customer-friendly but leave open what the family pays in the end. Each can be made more precise with little effort:
| Phrase | Why it is risky | Better |
|---|---|---|
| "Free of charge for you" | The care fund only pays up to the maximum amount of the care level | "Billed directly to the care fund up to the maximum amount of your care level" |
| "Low private prices" | Comparison without a reference point, the price remains open | State the total price with unit and leave the judgment to the reader |
| "Housekeeping beyond the budget at a special price" | Above the maximum amount, the agreed remuneration applies (Section 120 (4) SGB XI) | "Above the maximum amount we charge the agreed contract price" |
| "Fixed price, no hidden costs" | Absolute claim that makes any later flat fee contestable | Name the components openly, highlight the total price |
| "Prices on request" | The material information is missing | State the price or explain the method of price calculation and offer the cost estimate |
All five lines share the same idea: the page promises nothing the contract does not keep. A care fund share is not free for the family but paid through its insurance, and a private price is only low once the reader can compare it with something. Which other mandatory information a care website needs, from the imprint to the limits of the German Therapeutic Products Advertising Act, is summarized in Legally Sound Care Website: Imprint and HWG.
Checklist for the pricing page
- Every line assigned to a zone: care fund benefit, home care assistance above the maximum amount or service outside SGB XI.
- Care fund column with the method of price calculation and a reference to the list of services and prices.
- A sentence stating that services above the maximum amount are charged at the agreed contract price.
- Private services with total price and unit of service, with a highlighted total where prices are broken down.
- Price date shown above the table, the next review date in the care manager's calendar.
- Reference to the relief amount and the conversion entitlement wherever everyday help is offered.
- "Request a cost estimate" button with a short form without mandatory fields on diagnoses.
- HTML table instead of a scan, with column headers and readable on a phone.
A pricing page is not a one-off project. It depends on two documents that change: the remuneration agreement with the funding bodies and the service's own price list for private services. On top of that come the statutory benefit amounts; how to update guide pages when a reform changes them is described in Care reform draft: updating your advice pages properly.
The pricing page has its full effect as part of a website that shows services, service area and contact people just as clearly. What that looks like for a whole provider is shown on our page on the website for home care services; what belongs on a care website overall is summarized there. The prices and their classification remain your decision: we implement what your agreement supports.
Sources and legal texts
Related Articles
Palliative care at home: explaining the path to care
Explain palliative care at home: general care versus SAPV under Section 37b SGB V, the path to a prescription, network and availability, no promise of cure.
Specialized Wound Care: Show Your Qualifications Online
Specialized wound care needs a Section 132a(4) SGB V contract and 84 teaching units per nurse. How your page shows the evidence without promising healing.
Employee Benefits on a Care Careers Page: Show Them Clearly
Transit pass, voucher card, childcare subsidy: how a care service lists benefits with amount and rule, knows the 50-euro limit and makes no promises on tax.