The German Association for Elderly and Disabled Aid (VDAB) is lending its support to the demands of Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) concerning the reduction of existing structural requirements for nursing homes. According to Thomas Knieling, the VDAB’s Federal Managing Director, construction costs are genuinely contributing to price increases in the care sector. Currently, establishing a fully equipped nursing home bed costs €150,000 or more, depending on the location. He noted that significant savings could emerge, particularly in densely populated areas, if restrictions pertaining to minimum room sizes, individual rooms, and other architectural or regulatory requirements were relaxed.
The association also views the Minister’s initiative to strengthen private long-term care provisions in a generally positive light. Knieling pointed out that given the financial situation of the statutory care insurance, individuals must increasingly plan for their care needs privately. He cited the Minister’s proposal for tax deductibility of contributions to private supplementary care insurance as a potential incentive to encourage this private foresight.
However, the VDAB cautioned against further changes without added guarantees. They insisted that people who provide private care insurance must also benefit from additional support services when they face care needs. Currently, participants often only gain the assurance that they will not have to use their personal assets or rely on social welfare. Knieling criticized this setup, stating that this lack of further benefits is currently excluded by the system and is not part of the proposed reforms.
Minister Warken previously conveyed to the “Funke-Mediengruppe” newspapers that she advocates for reducing the building regulations for nursing homes to only what is strictly necessary. She believes that rules concerning room sizes or communal areas unnecessarily inflate the cost of care placements. Furthermore, she championed initiatives that would make private care provision more attractive, including the future possibility of claiming contributions to supplementary private care insurance as deductible foresight expenses.
