Financing Long-Term Care in Germany and Slovakia

Gerda Schmahl

Abstract

The importance of longterm care (LTC), in terms of costs and demand, continues to grow in Slovakia and Germany. This is a direct consequence of demographic changes. The two countries are under pressure to find solutions to finance LTC. This paper aims to contribute to the acquisition of more knowledge about LTC financial systems within the EU and, in particular, to present how the financial risk of LTC dependency is covered in Slovakia and Germany. The paper organizes existing literature on organization and financing of LTC and uses it to analyze as well as to compare the economic, policy and behavioral forces that underpin the observed equilibrium. The Slovak and German LTC systems share a high degree of familybased and informal service provision. The emphasis is not placed on the actual needs of the care recipient, but rather on minimizing the public expenditures. It seems that a mixed financing system based on private payments with public subsidies is the path they have chosen in covering the financial risk of LTC.

Keywords

LongTerm Care, Financing, Social care insurance, Longterm care system

DOI

https://doi.org/0.18267/pr.2022.kre.2454.8

Cite this paper

Schmahl, G. (2022). Financing Long-Term Care in Germany and Slovakia. In: 22nd International Joint Conference Central and Eastern Europe in the Changing Business Environment. Proceedings. Oeconomica Publishing House, Praha. https://doi.org/0.18267/pr.2022.kre.2454.8

 

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