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Need, unmet need, and shortage in the long-term care market
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Orientador(es)
Resumo(s)
It is easy to agree that the provision of LTC services for the older population should not be entirely left to the market, because care is a social right, and the market alone would improperly exclude too many people. Recognising that LTC is a human right, governments should intervene and guarantee the protection of those in need. In a world of unlimited resources, only unmet needs of LTC should be a reason for concern. However, because adequate care services are costly and different types of fundamental needs are competing for a limited public budget, some kind of limitation of the public provision of LTC is unavoidable. If public funding is provided in such a way that people pay for the LTC services that they can afford, and the government pays the rest, then there will be no unmet need and no shortage of LTC services. The difficulties in the implementation of this solution include the fact that paying for it could be beyond public budget possibilities on one hand, and on the other hand, that it is not straightforward to identify what each individual can afford. Therefore, in the real world, public funding - which lowers the price that people actually have to pay for care services, in comparison to the free market price - creates an excess demand for these services. This shortage would not be important if the excess demand in the subsidised market was absorbed by the private commercial providers. However, what is the real cause for concern is unmet need.
The objective of this study is to understand the extent of the unmet need for care, the need for more formal care, and the existence of a shortage in the long-term care market, in Portugal, whilst conveniently differentiating these concepts.
Descrição
Palavras-chave
Public Budget Health System Older Population Social Care Services Portugal
Contexto Educativo
Citação
Albuquerque, Paula C. .2020. "Need, unmet need, and shortage in the long-term care market". Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão. Working papers nº 1-2020/DE/SOCIUS/CSG
Editora
ISEG - Departamento de Economia