In the Netherlands (as in many EU countries) the question of how to keep long-term care affordable is a burning issue. For such care to be not only affordable but sustainable, accessible and of good quality requires a number of conditions to be met:

Host Country : The Netherlands

Place and date : 10. - 11.2.2009

Peer countries : Austria - Belgium - Estonia - Germany - Hungary - Poland - Romania - Slovenia - Sweden - United Kingdom

Stakeholders : AGE, EASPD

• There needs to be a careful balance between collective and individual arrangements and responsibilities which is not easy to achieve Individuals can be involved in collective arrangements (through co-payments; or personal budgets) while local authorities can help people cope independently with long-term care.
• Clear boundaries need to be drawn between long-term care and related schemes like subsidised housing or home-help, so people are aware of what services they are entitled to and how this is decided.
• Qualified personnel are as important as funding being available, while balancing supply and demand needs to take account of demographic and, labour market factors.

In the Netherlands, a public debate is underway about the future of the long-term care system and in these challenging times, the government considers it important to reflect, compare and exchange views with other governments in the EU.

Peer Review manager

Ms Renate Haupfleisch (ÖSB Consulting GmbH)