The statutory health insurance funds(GKV) in Baden-Württemberg have been supporting and promoting the activities of health-related self-help groups for many years, including through financial assistance.
What is a health-related self-help group?
A health-related self-help group (SHG) is a voluntary association of people who suffer from the same illness or the same psychological or social problem. Together with others, they want to change something in order to cope better with their life situation – either as sufferers or as relatives. In the group, they find understanding and share knowledge and experience. Community self-help complements the professional help system and is therefore a recognized pillar of our health and social system.
Who is eligible for funding?
There must be a clear connection to health: self-help groups are voluntary associations of people who have a chronic illness or disability or are affected as relatives. A list of relevant clinical pictures can be found in Appendix 2 of the
Guidelines for the promotion of self-help
. The criteria that must be met for a self-help group and its activities to be recognized as eligible for funding are
here
described here.
What financial aid is available?
A distinction is made between two funding procedures:
Flat-rate funding
(Content of this article)
Cross-fundsupport for regular self-help-related tasks
Project funding
Individual fund support for projects and projects with limited time and content
What is funded?
The flat-rate funding across all types of health insurance is understood as financial support for regular self-help-related tasks. This includes in particular expenses that
listed here
are listed here. Note: Since 2020, you can apply for funding for certain projects for which you previously had to submit separate project applications as part of the flat-rate funding. The linked
special information
explains this extended allocation to flat-rate funding.
How much funding is available?
Funding amounts are to be understood as a subsidy for the total costs of self-help groups. Full financing of activities is not legally permissible. There is no legal entitlement to funding for self-help measures. The funding amount always depends on the individual case, the available funding, the number of eligible applications received as well as the comprehensible funding requirements of the applicants.
Applications and completion aid with checklist
The relevant application forms and a completion aid with checklist can be found
here.
Application deadline (lump sum funding)
The deadline for applications for lump sum funding always ends on 31.03. of one year. Please send your application for flat-rate funding to the relevant (lead) health insurance fund in good time. The application should be submitted there by 31.03. at the latest. of the respective funding year. Exception: Newly founded self-help groups can apply until 31.10. of each year. of a year.
Which statutory health insurance fund is in charge?
Who can you contact if you have any questions?
If you have any questions about funding for self-help groups, you can contact the statutory health insurance contact person responsible for your area.
GKV contact person
(
Search
using your zip code or town). Many of the health insurance funds/contact points offer information events at the beginning of the year where they provide information about the funding procedure, either online or in your local area. Therefore, please get in touch with the contact person at your responsible (lead) health insurance fund in good time.
Further interesting and relevant information about self-help in Baden-Württemberg can be found on the website of the
SEKiS
Baden-Württemberg
(self-help contact point at state level in Baden-Württemberg).
Note:
Groups of people with experience of psychiatry, relatives of mentally ill people and community or lay helpers in the psychiatric field (including those that are not considered health-related self-help groups by the statutory health insurance) can apply for a grant from state funds to the
Association for Mental Health in Baden-Württemberg e. V.
for a grant from state funds. The information sheet with the funding principles and the screen-compatible forms are available here for download. Here, too, the deadline for submitting the funding application is March 31. of a year.