A German opposition lawmaker's suggestion that authorities could subsidize paid sex for patients who require nursing care has drawn a critical reception.

Elisabeth Scharfenberg, the opposition Greens' spokeswoman on care policy, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper she could imagine authorities "financing sexual assistance.''

The newspaper said the idea is based on a system in the Netherlands, under which applicants must prove a medical need and show that they can't otherwise pay for a sex worker.Lawmaker Karl Lauterbach of the governing Social Democrats told Monday's Bild daily that "we don't need paid prostitution in homes for the elderly, and certainly not on prescription.''

The German Patient Protection Foundation said people who have to fight for help on basic matters such as washing and eating have other concerns.

(AP)