German Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) has urged state governments to review and significantly reduce the building regulations governing nursing homes. The stated goal is to lower costs in stationary elder care, thereby reducing the financial burden placed on individuals needing care. Speaking to the media group Funke, Warken advocated for phasing out overly stringent standards, calling for building requirements to be reduced to the bare minimum. She argued that past regulations, such as mandatory room capacities or the size of communal areas, were often too severe and lacked necessary flexibility, leading to increased operational costs for care facilities.
According to the minister, individuals currently cover an average of over €500 per month in investment costs through their own contributions. Warken suggests that greater investment from the states in care facilities could significantly alleviate these expenses.
Separately, Warken defended planned adjustments to the relief subsidies for residents in care homes, which will begin to take effect later than previously planned. These subsidies provided by care insurance funds have seen substantial year-on-year increases, effectively doubling to around €7 billion between 2022 and 2025. However, the minister insisted that this time deferment does not mean a reduction in benefits. “We are not abolishing this subsidy, but we can grant the higher subsidies slightly later,” she explained. She also noted that even after the reform, the contribution of the care insurance to overall care costs will remain significantly higher than it was before 2022.
When pressed on the possibility of eliminating increasing reliance on social assistance through the reform, Warken stated that a complete exclusion was impossible. Nevertheless, she emphasized the safety net function of the welfare state, noting that the care insurance has already resulted in fewer people needing social assistance. She added that even with temporary adjustments to some benefits, local municipalities would continue to benefit from the system.
Warken offered a reserved response to the criticism from the German Cities Association, which had described the reform direction as a “slap in the face.” While acknowledging that increased burdens might occur in specific cases, she countered that mitigating factors-such as stronger performance incentives for services and expanded preventative care-would balance out these effects. The overarching aim of the reform, she concluded, is to help prevent or delay the onset of dependency on care and ensure the long-term financial stability of the system.
