Long-Term Social Care – The Problem of Sustainable Financing in Slovakia
Long-Term Social Care – The Problem of Sustainable Financing in Slovakia

Author(s): Ľudomír Šlahor, Mária Barteková, Janka Gasperová, Dagmar Palátová
Subject(s): Government/Political systems, Demography and human biology, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Masarykova univerzita nakladatelství
Keywords: demographic ageing; long-term social care; sustainable financing;
Summary/Abstract: Demographic changes challenge Slovakia in various perspectives and in various ways. Future trends, especially the growth of the elderly population, are expected to affect significantly the provision and sustainability of long-term social care (LTSC), i.e. services that support the care dependent person in carrying out activities of daily life (bathing, clothing, eating, shopping, cooking, etc.) or support the informal carer in carrying out these tasks. Looking into the future, the formulation of a sustainable LTSC policy will increasingly become the major focus for social policy. Several barriers to access the LTSC occurred in the Slovak LTSC system. Main of them are financial barriers, geographic barriers and organizational barriers. Financing system of the Slovak LTSC is mixed. Long term social care is funded from two sources, differed by type of provided LTSC. The scope of this paper will be restricted to addressing the most important questions concerning financial sustainability with respect to collective and individual arrangements and public and private responsibilities. This paper will highlight the common challenges regarding financing LTSC in Slovakia and builds on examples from several EU countries to discuss the different financing schemes for LTSC, the trade-offs associated with each option and recent trends.

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