The Health and Social System in Germany – An Overview for Study and Practice

1. Course overview

Self-study course · Online academy · Health

For professionals in social work, nursing and care, and counselling, managers in social and health-related organisations, and students on social and health-related courses of study; no prior knowledge required.

8 modulesapprox. 8 hoursat your own paceReferences in APA 7 styleConfirmation of participation after working through all modules

How to work with this course

Work through the modules at your own pace – ideally in the suggested order.
Each module combines professional and legal fundamentals with case examples, an exercise with suggested solutions and questions for reflection. All statements are supported by references in APA 7 style.
At the end of each module you will find a voluntaryself-reflection with 5 questions – not graded, and you can repeat it as often as you like.
Use ‘Mark module as done’ to mark a chapter as completed for yourself. After working through all modules, you will receive your confirmation of participation.

Course content

Module	Topic	Time
Module 1	Welfare state and the solidarity principle – basic concepts of social protection This module explains why Germany is a welfare state (Sozialstaat), how the solidarity principle (Solidarprinzip) works and how benefits can be classified using the insurance, social assistance and provision principles (Versicherungs-, Fürsorge- und Versorgungsprinzip).	approx. 50 min
Module 2	The five branches of social insurance – risks, contributions and benefit logic You will get to know the five branches of social insurance (Sozialversicherung) with their life risks, laws and contribution logic, assign events to the correct branch and evaluate the strengths and limits of contribution-based financing.	approx. 50 min
Module 3	Benefit providers and responsibilities – finding your way through a structured system Who is responsible for which need, and what happens to an application that ends up with the wrong body? The module guides you through benefit providers (Leistungsträger), rehabilitation providers (Rehabilitationsträger), section 16 of Social Code Book I (SGB I) and section 14 of Social Code Book IX (SGB IX).	approx. 55 min
Module 4	Statutory health insurance – benefits, contributions and reforms How statutory health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung, GKV) under Social Code Book V (SGB V) organises benefits, contributions and sickness benefit (Krankengeld), and what the hospital reform (KHVVG, KHAG) means for counselling and management.	approx. 55 min
Module 5	Long-term care insurance and care grades – needs evaluation (Begutachtung), benefits, limits How an application becomes a Pflegegrad (care grade), which benefits and counselling services are linked to it, and where long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) reaches its limits as a partial-benefit system (Teilleistungssystem).	approx. 55 min
Module 6	Rehabilitation and participation – SGB IX and the Federal Participation Act (Bundesteilhabegesetz) How SGB IX puts participation rather than welfare at the centre: the concept of disability, five groups of benefits, rehabilitation providers, clarification of responsibility under section 14 SGB IX and the reform introduced by the Federal Participation Act (Bundesteilhabegesetz).	approx. 55 min
Module 7	Securing a minimum livelihood – Grundsicherungsgeld and social assistance (SGB II/XII) The last safety net of the welfare state: the fundamental right to a minimum subsistence level consistent with human dignity, the distinction between Grundsicherungsgeld (basic income support benefit, Social Code Book II, SGB II) and social assistance (Sozialhilfe, Social Code Book XII, SGB XII), the standard needs rates (Regelbedarfe) for 2026 and the New Basic Income Support (Neue Grundsicherung) since 1 July 2026.	approx. 55 min
Module 8	Access, duties to advise and the navigator role – synthesis and transfer How legal entitlements become actual benefits: duties to advise under the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch), the navigation process, reforms from 2024 to 2026 and the limits of the navigator role (Lotsenfunktion).	approx. 55 min

Legal position as of October 2026
Legal and knowledge position as of October 2026: since 1 July 2026 the New Basic Income Support (Neue Grundsicherung) has been taking effect in stages (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 107; benefit ‘Grundsicherungsgeld’); since 1 January 2026 the Act to Extend Powers and Reduce Bureaucracy in Nursing Care (Gesetz zur Befugniserweiterung und Entbürokratisierung in der Pflege) has applied; and the hospital reform (KHVVG 2024) has been amended by the Hospital Reform Adjustment Act (KHAG, BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 98); the standard needs rates for 2026 are unchanged. The Long-Term Care Reorganisation Act (Pflegeneuordnungsgesetz) is only a cabinet draft of 30 September 2026.

Self-study without supervision, assignments or evaluation of learning progress by instructors; the voluntary self-reflection is for your own self-check only. This self-study course provides professional knowledge for practice. It does not replace legal advice in individual cases or any mandatory induction or instruction, and it does not fulfil any statutory or contractual training obligation; whether it can be credited is decided by your employer. The laws in their currently applicable version and the concepts and procedures of your organisation are authoritative.