Promoting ageing in place through flexible care options: The Dutch experience
Type de matériel :
36
Freedom of choice, ageing in place, financial accessibility, and sustainability of public spending are core elements in the debates around long-term care. To better fulfill these goals, the Netherlands has created new financing options for long-term care: at-home packages (VPT and MPT) and personal budgets (PGB). In principle, these options allow an individual with moderate to high care needs to benefit from a comprehensive package of care and help at home. The role played by these new options is however little documented. This article explains how they work, highlighting how the costs are split between the beneficiary and public spending compared to a stay in a nursing home. In addition, it leverages a range of statistical sources (individual and aggregate data) to shed light on the developments in the use of these new options. We document that they are more frequently used by individuals with more moderate care needs as well as by individuals with a higher income. Furthermore, the at-home packages and personal budgets seem to contribute to the development of residential care homes, in parallel to traditional nursing homes. These new care options may foster the development of innovative residential arrangements that sit in between private housing and nursing homes and enable savings on public spending. However, they may also undermine equity in care and in financing, which are central to the Dutch long-term care social insurance. The Dutch case provides an illustration of the thin line between ensuring freedom of choice and securing a universal and fair long-term care system.
Réseaux sociaux