New guidelines issued to regulate nursing home costs

The central government has published guidelines to regulate the pricing policies of elderly nursing homes in order to let seniors get affordable, qualified and sustainable services.

The guidelines are jointly unveiled by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the National Health Commission.

The guidelines clarify that nursing homes' pricing policies cover basic fees for beds and services, extra fees for diets and fees for on-demand home services. The government-sponsored nursing homes follow government-guided prices, and their pricing policies should be set by provincial-level departments or authorized city-level authorities.

Commercial nursing homes are encouraged to offer high-quality services with favorable prices based on their running costs and people's demands, according to the guidelines.

The guidelines have urged local authorities to optimize standards and evaluation mechanisms for nursing homes' pricing policies to make sure these policies are reasonable and transparent. For example, the pricing policies should be based on people's disposable incomes and the area's human resources costs.

Also, the guidelines urge local authorities to improve guidance to nursing home operators and help them not only provide better services for the elderly, but also to prevent possible risks and settle disputes.

Local authorities should cooperate closely with each other to crack down on improper or illegal behaviors such as not implementing government-guided prices or not marking prices clearly to secure the rights of seniors.

As of the end of 2025, China had about 395,000 nursing homes and facilities nationwide with 7.68 million beds for the elderly, according to the civil affairs ministry.