• Geriatric rehabilitation (on an inpatient or partial inpatient basis)

Following or instead of a hospital stay, patients can be treated at a geriatric rehabilitation facility. Further treatment at a geriatric rehabilitation facility is a good idea if intensive treatment is needed in order to continue rehabilitation activities (such as following an operation or broken leg).

• Home healthcare (Sec. 37 SGB V)

Insured parties can receive healthcare services at home in order to prevent or shorten a hospital stay. Home healthcare (häusliche Krankenpflege) services encompass the necessary basic care and treatment as well as domestic help. A claim to home healthcare exists only if there is no person living in the same household who can care for the patient to the necessary extent. For this health insurance benefit to be approved, it must be prescribed by a doctor. Home healthcare is especially recommended in cases where a patient requires care temporarily, because long-term care insurance benefits do not apply in these cases. Home healthcare is subject to a limited term. It typically cannot be prescribed for longer than four weeks. Longer periods of care may be granted in specific cases. Medizinischer Dienst der Krankenversicherung (MDK) decides on this. Copay (Zuzahlung): The patient pays 10 percent for the first 28 days in a calendar year.