Aim: The study aimed to identify and compare aspects of the different Spanish regulations on the minimum conditions that nursing homes must meet and to compare whether these requirements significantly affect the price of a nursing home place in each region.
Methods: We analyzed and compared the 17 regional regulations that must be met by nursing homes in terms of equipment and social and healthcare staff and combined this information with regional information concerning the price and coverage of public and subsidized places in nursing homes.
Results: The study revealed significant regional inequality in physical facilities and human resources. However, the number of regulatory measures referring to the mandatory availability of physical space or specific material resources was not positively correlated with an increase in the price of a place in a public or subsidized nursing home.
Conclusions: No unified regulations throughout Spain regulate the aspects that residential centers must comply with. There is a need to move towards a person-centered approach, providing an environment as close to home as possible. The regulation of minimum standards to be met by all nursing homes at the national level should not significantly impact prices.
Keywords: autonomy; elderly; legal medicine; nursing homes; residential homes; welfare state.