Sources and method – Chronically ill people
Demarcation from other Wegweiser guides on this platform
"Chronically ill people" deals specifically with the entitlements arising from a permanent physical illness – in particular the health insurance mechanisms of co-payment exemption (§ 62 SGB V), disease management programmes, home nursing care and provision of aids and appliances. For the detailed application for a severe disability card, degree of disability and all compensation for disadvantages, the relevant topic pages refer to the separate Wegweiser Disability, which covers this procedure in full depth. For the specifics of sick leave and treatment in mental illness, the pages refer to the Wegweiser Depression and Burnout & Exhaustion. This division is meant to avoid duplicate, potentially contradictory content between the modules.
Sources
- Gesetze im Internet (gesetze-im-internet.de), Federal Ministry of Justice and Federal Office of Justice, retrieved September 2026: consolidated versions of SGB V (esp. §§ 27b, 32, 33, 37, 40, 44, 48, 60, 61, 62, 137f, 137g), SGB VI (§§ 43, 50, 99), SGB IX (§§ 2, 8, 14, 42, 167), SGB XI (§§ 14, 15, 18), SGB I (§ 60), SGG (§ 84), BGB (§§ 630a–630h), EFZG (§§ 3, 5) and VVG (§ 19). Basis for all sections cited in the text.
- Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (g-ba.de), retrieved September 2026: Chroniker-Richtlinie (criteria for "seriously chronically ill" under § 62 SGB V), Häusliche Krankenpflege-Richtlinie, Heilmittel-Richtlinie, Krankentransport-Richtlinie, Zweitmeinungs-Richtlinie, DMP-Anforderungen-Richtlinie and the decision on the obesity DMP (July 2024).
- GKV-Spitzenverband (gkv-spitzenverband.de), Hilfsmittelverzeichnis, retrieved September 2026. Basis for the general description of the provision of aids and appliances.
- Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (kbv.de), topic page on disease management programmes, retrieved September 2026. Basis for the nationwide implementation status of the individual DMPs.
- reha-recht.de and Patientenportal Bayern, articles on the resumption of independent patient advice by the Stiftung UPD on 6 May 2024, as well as Deutscher Bundestag, text archive on the statutory restructuring of the UPD (2023), each retrieved September 2026. Basis for the information on the current status of the UPD.
- Bundesarbeitsgericht (bundesarbeitsgericht.de), established case law on occupational reintegration management (Betriebliches Eingliederungsmanagement) and on the burden of proof in dismissal for illness, retrieved September 2026.
- Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (bfarm.de), Bundesopiumstelle, retrieved September 2026. Basis for the note on narcotics when travelling.
Where information is expressly marked as uncertain
For some statements, no direct official primary source could be found or cross-checked with final certainty during research. This concerns in particular:
- the exact allowances per family member when calculating the burden limit under § 62 SGB V for the year 2026 – the topic page "Co-payment exemption and burden limit" describes the calculation principle but deliberately gives no concrete euro amount, as it changes every year and no current primary source for 2026 could be reliably verified;
- the regional implementation status of the disease management programmes for obesity, chronic heart failure, depression, chronic back pain, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis – the G-BA has adopted or updated requirements for these indications, but the actual contractual implementation between health insurers and the regional associations of statutory health insurance physicians is, according to the sources reviewed, inconsistent and in flux; in particular for the depression DMP, no evidence was found of nationwide contractual implementation since the original version of 2019;
- the exact state of expansion of the advice centre network of the Stiftung Unabhängige Patientenberatung Deutschland (UPD) as of September 2026 – the most recently reviewed sources (October 2025) mentioned anonymous telephone advice as well as in-person advice in Berlin and one advice centre in Erfurt; whether the network has grown since October 2025 could not be conclusively verified;
- the specific conditions under which private insurers may charge a risk surcharge for pre-existing conditions or reject contracts – this is up to the individual provider and cannot be quantified across the board;
- whether and to what extent the import of certain medicines (especially narcotics) into individual travel destinations is subject to additional formalities – here the text refers generally to the Bundesopiumstelle and the relevant embassy rather than listing country rules in detail, which could not be conclusively verified here.
In all these cases, the topic page concerned names the uncertainty expressly in a warning box, rather than presenting a figure or assessment as established law.
What this platform does – and what it does not
- Figures, deadlines, amounts and legal bases come from the sources named. Nothing was added that is not substantiated there. Where a statement could not be reliably verified, this is stated on the page concerned, rather than guessed.
- These pages do not replace the in-depth presentation of severe disability law in the Wegweiser Disability or of mental health in the Wegweiser Depression and Burnout & Exhaustion – where these topics are touched on, the text expressly refers there rather than duplicating the content.
- Social and health law is in flux, especially for disease management programmes and for the organisation of independent patient advice. The information does not replace medical or legal advice in an individual case.
- Deadlines are often short and run from delivery of a notice of decision (Bescheid). If in doubt, go straight to an advice centre, the responsible health insurer or a lawyer specialising in social law – see Advice and contact points.