German Long-Term Care Recipient Mortality Ratios 2020-2024

Claims data from over 3 million people insured by BARMER reveals persistently higher mortality rates for individuals needing long-term care. The analysis, conducted by Luisa Haß, calculates mortality rate ratios (MRR) for German men and women aged 60 and older from 2020 to 2024. The most extreme disparity was found in women aged 90+, where the MRR increased from 6.6 to 60.7 over the study period.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in mortality rate ratios (MRR) for long-term care recipients versus non-recipients over the 2020-2024 period.
• Compare age- and sex-specific mortality disparities, such as the MRR for women aged 90+ rising from 6.6 to 60.7.
• Estimate person-time at risk for demographic subgroups using the study's mid-year death adjustment method.
• Validate projection models for long-term care demand using empirical MRR estimates stratified by age and sex.

Strengths

• Derived from a large underlying population of over 3 million insured individuals.
• Provides specific mortality rate ratios (MRR) with 95% confidence intervals for detailed age and sex strata.
• Covers a recent and consistent 5-year time period from 2020 to 2024.

Limitations

• The dataset is a summary table (17.6 KB), containing aggregated statistics rather than individual-level records for analysis.
• Scope is limited to one German health insurer (BARMER), which may not be fully representative of the national population.
• Analysis is restricted to individuals aged 60 years and older, excluding younger age groups.

Provenance

Source

BARMER, a German statutory health insurance provider.

Collection Method

Analysis of anonymized, aggregated claims data.

Time Range

2020 to 2024

Freshness

Data covers up to 2024 and was last updated in April 2026.

Geography

Germany