New care home rates: Ticino's PLR calls for a delay

Municipalities and the canton may end up facing a bigger bill than expected because of the new way daily rates are calculated in Ticino's care homes. That is the claim made by PLR members of parliament Patrick Rusconi and Matteo Quadranti in a parliamentary question, according to which the financial impact of the reform would be about 20% higher than initial estimates.

The regulation took effect retroactively on 1 January 2026. The reform aims to reduce the weight given to property assets when calculating the daily rate and to put owners and tenants with the same income on equal footing. Until 2027, a transitional rule bars increases for residents already in care, allowing only reductions.

Initial forecasts for 2026 pointed to lost revenue of nearly two million francs, four-fifths of it borne by municipalities. Municipal care homes now estimate higher shortfalls: 400,000 francs in Bellinzona and 600,000 francs in Lugano.

«Questo presunto mancato incasso dà delle serie preoccupazioni» («This apparent loss of revenue is a serious concern»), says Silvano Morisoli, director of Bellinzona's care homes. According to Morisoli, the additional deficits of the homes will have to be covered by the canton and municipalities, ultimately by taxpayers.

Hardship cases

About half of the lost revenue estimated in the two cities stems from the temporary freeze on increases and should therefore taper off from 2028. The other half concerns so-called hardship cases: residents not receiving supplementary benefits, for whom the new formula produces a rate below the minimum of 84 francs a day. In these cases, Morisoli explains, the home must apply the amount that actually results from the calculation, which can drop close to zero.

If the same pattern emerged in other Ticino municipalities, the overall cost of the reform would exceed initial estimates by even more. Rusconi and Quadranti are therefore proposing to postpone the entry into force of the contested provisions to 1 January 2027, keeping in the meantime the relief on property assets and the minimum rate of 84 francs a day, to allow time to verify the figures and make any corrections.

It remains to be seen how solid the estimates behind the reform are, and whether municipalities already stretched by other social spending can absorb a burden that risks exceeding initial forecasts by 20%.