Long-term care policies meet austerity

Cutbacks and retrenchment in long-term care – the provision of services and cash benefits aimed at facing care needs of older people with reduced autonomy (LTC) - have been reported in several European countries following the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Yet, the policy trajectories of European countries in this area and the institutional features of the policy field are far from homogeneous. This chapter explores the distribution, features, origin and influence of LTC cutbacks and retrenchment by considering 11 countries, embed in the different welfare and care regimes that characterize Europe, and their policy trajectory from the mid-2000s, through the economic crisis and in subsequent years. The analysis suggests that austerity in the field of LTC has not substantially changed the policy trajectory of single welfare states, but rather exacerbated, supported, boosted trends that were already ongoing before the outburst of the crisis.