Wegweiser Chronically ill people Deutsch

📞 Advice and contact points

From patient advice through self-help groups to social advice: who is responsible for what if you are getting nowhere with a health insurer, the Versorgungsamt or the pension insurance?

Patient advice UPD Self-help group Social advice Ombudsperson

In brief

For general, independent questions about your health insurance and treatment, the Stiftung Unabhängige Patientenberatung Deutschland (UPD, independent patient advice foundation) has again offered a nationwide advice service since May 2024 – funded through an annual allocation from the GKV-Spitzenverband and organised as a foundation. For exchanging experiences with others affected, self-help groups, often organised through the local self-help contact point or NAKOS (national contact and information centre for encouraging and supporting self-help groups), are an important point of contact. For specific social benefit questions (pension, care, severe disability), social associations such as VdK or SoVD and the municipalities' social advice services help.

Step by step

  1. Classify your concernIs it about a specific treatment or insurer decision (patient advice), exchanging experiences (self-help) or a social benefit such as a pension or care level (social association/social advice)?
  2. Make first contactThe UPD can be reached anonymously by phone and in person at its advice centres; many services are free of charge.
  3. Find a self-help groupThrough the NAKOS database or the local self-help contact point you can find groups specific to your illness.
  4. Keep deadlines in view with notices of decisionBring the complete notice of decision (Bescheid) with its date to every advice session so that the objection deadline does not pass unused.
  5. Use additional legal adviceIn complex or disputed cases, a lawyer specialising in social law (Fachanwalt für Sozialrecht) can make sense; on a low income, legal advice assistance (Beratungshilfe) is possible.

Deadlines

1 month
General objection deadline against notices of decision from the health insurer, Pflegekasse, Versorgungsamt or pension insurance§ 84 SGG
Watch out – common mistakes
  • The structure of the body running independent patient advice was fundamentally reorganised in 2023/2024: the former non-profit limited company with a private operator consortium was replaced by a foundation provided for by law, which has again been advising nationwide since 6 May 2024. According to the sources reviewed, the foundation most recently (as of October 2025) offered anonymous telephone advice and in-person advice in Berlin and one advice centre in Erfurt; whether and how the advice centre network has been expanded further since then could not be conclusively verified for September 2026 – ask the UPD directly for the current status.
  • Not every advice centre is responsible for every concern – patient advice does not replace legal advice or social advice on pensions or care levels.
  • Advice services from health insurers or insurance companies are not independent in the same sense as the UPD or social associations – keep this in mind when assessing recommendations.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Unabhängige Patientenberatung Deutschland (UPD)

The UPD was originally founded in 2006 as a pilot project and until the end of 2015 was run by Sozialverband VdK, Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (vzbv) and the Verbund unabhängige Patientenberatung (VuP), and was privately operated thereafter. To secure the function permanently, the legislature decided to establish an independent foundation; it is funded by an annual allocation from the GKV-Spitzenverband (according to the sources reviewed most recently 15 million euros per year). The Stiftung UPD began its work on 6 May 2024.

Self-help

Self-help groups and organisations for individual chronic illnesses (e.g. diabetes, rheumatic diseases, chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, kidney diseases) are often co-funded by health insurers as part of self-help funding under § 20h SGB V. NAKOS offers a nationwide overview and referral service.

Social associations and municipal advice

Social associations such as the Sozialverband VdK Deutschland and the Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD) offer members advice and representation in objection and court proceedings on pension, care and severe disability law. In addition, many municipalities offer general social advice.

Who is responsible
  • Stiftung Unabhängige Patientenberatung Deutschland (UPD)
  • NAKOS and local self-help contact points
  • Social associations (VdK, SoVD, etc.)
  • Municipal social advice
Further reading
Patient rights and second opinionRights and entitlements in chronic illness: an overview

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Advice and contact points“?
From patient advice through self-help groups to social advice: who is responsible for what if you are getting nowhere with a health insurer, the Versorgungsamt or the pension insurance?
Which deadlines and figures matter?
1 month: General objection deadline against notices of decision from the health insurer, Pflegekasse, Versorgungsamt or pension insurance (§ 84 SGG)
What should I do first?
  • Classify your concern: Is it about a specific treatment or insurer decision (patient advice), exchanging experiences (self-help) or a social benefit such as a pension or care level (social association/social advice)?
  • Make first contact: The UPD can be reached anonymously by phone and in person at its advice centres; many services are free of charge.
  • Find a self-help group: Through the NAKOS database or the local self-help contact point you can find groups specific to your illness.
What do I need to watch out for?
  • The structure of the body running independent patient advice was fundamentally reorganised in 2023/2024: the former non-profit limited company with a private operator consortium was replaced by a foundation provided for by law, which has again been advising nationwide since 6 May 2024. According to the sources reviewed, the foundation most recently (as of October 2025) offered anonymous telephone advice and in-person advice in Berlin and one advice centre in Erfurt; whether and how the advice centre network has been expanded further since then could not be conclusively verified for September 2026 – ask the UPD directly for the current status.
  • Not every advice centre is responsible for every concern – patient advice does not replace legal advice or social advice on pensions or care levels.
  • Advice services from health insurers or insurance companies are not independent in the same sense as the UPD or social associations – keep this in mind when assessing recommendations.
Evidence
  • reha-recht.de, article on the resumption of UPD advice, May 2024, retrieved September 2026
  • Patientenportal Bayern, report on the launch of the Stiftung UPD, May 2024, retrieved September 2026
  • Deutscher Bundestag, text archive on the restructuring of the UPD, 2023, retrieved September 2026
  • § 20h SGB V – promotion of self-help (gesetze-im-internet.de)
  • § 84 SGG (gesetze-im-internet.de)
As of

As of: September 2026. For the UPD's current availability, see the note above under Warning. · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.