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Are You Well Prepared for Long-term Care? – Assessing Financial Gaps in Private German Care Provision

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  • Keese, Matthias
  • Meng, Annika
  • Schnabel, Reinhold

Abstract

The development of expenditure for care services is one of the most intensively debated topics in public. However, studies calculating financial provision gaps only focus on the macro-level implications for the compulsory care insurance. In contrast, this paper examines the individuals' micro-level perspective. We use survey as well as regional and national statistical data to calculate expected individual costs of long-term care on a very detailed care arrangement and care level basis. Afterwards, we compare these costs with the individuals' total wealth. In our most conservative policy scenario, our results show that about a third of statutorily insured individuals will have to face a financial care provision gap. Among homeowners, an even higher share will have to liquidate the main residence. The privately insured are affected to a somewhat lower extent. In both groups, the situation will become much more severe if the development of public transfers does not keep up with future increases of long-term care costs. Furthermore, regression analyses show that provision gaps are more frequent among statutorily insured individuals, females, and individuals in single households.

Suggested Citation

  • Keese, Matthias & Meng, Annika & Schnabel, Reinhold, 2010. "Are You Well Prepared for Long-term Care? – Assessing Financial Gaps in Private German Care Provision," Ruhr Economic Papers 203, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:rwirep:203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andreas Werblow & Stefan Felder & Peter Zweifel, 2007. "Population ageing and health care expenditure: a school of ‘red herrings’?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(10), pages 1109-1126, October.
    2. Andreas Werblow & Stefan Felder & Peter Zweifel, 2007. "Population ageing and health care expenditure: a school of 'red herrings'?," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(10), pages 1109-1126.
    3. James M. Poterba & Steven F. Venti & David A. Wise, 2011. "Family Status Transitions, Latent Health, and the Post-Retirement Evolution of Assets," NBER Chapters, in: Explorations in the Economics of Aging, pages 23-69, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Breyer, Friedrich & Felder, Stefan, 2006. "Life expectancy and health care expenditures: A new calculation for Germany using the costs of dying," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 178-186, January.
    5. Office of Health Economics, 2007. "The Economics of Health Care," For School 001490, Office of Health Economics.
    6. Meier, Volker, 1996. "Long-Term Care Insurance and Savings," Munich Reprints in Economics 19245, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Meng, Annika, 2010. "The Impact of Demographic Change, Co-morbidity and European Care Policies on the Choice of Care Arrangement," Ruhr Economic Papers 224, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    2. Annika Meng, 2013. "Informal home care and labor-force participation of household members," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 44(2), pages 959-979, April.
    3. repec:zbw:rwirep:0224 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Annika Meng, 2010. "The Impact of Demographic Change, Co-morbidity and European Care Policies on the Choice of Care Arrangement," Ruhr Economic Papers 0224, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    5. Pieter Bakx & Claudine de Meijer & Frederik Schut & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2015. "Going Formal or Informal, Who Cares? The Influence of Public Long‐Term Care Insurance," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(6), pages 631-643, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    long-term care costs; care prevalence; life expectancy; provision gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • H75 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - State and Local Government: Health, Education, and Welfare
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination

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