The Impact of Aging on Long-Term Care in Europe and Some Potential Policy Responses

Abstract

The article examines recent data on the impact of increasing numbers of elderly people in Europe on expenditures for long-term care services. After reviewing recent and projected future costs of long-term care, the authors examine current national strategies for long-term care as well as potential policy options that could reduce future expenditures due to aging. Although long-term care expenditures in Europe will rise over the next several decades, countries can adopt a variety of strategies—many of them in social sectors outside the health system—to reduce or mitigate the overall effects of likely long-term care needs.