Bulgaria, as well as the other new EU member states and Croatia are facing a challenge many Western countries have been facing for years – aging populations leading to increased demand for long-term care services. This is made doubly challenging because there are fewer potential caregivers to care for more dependent people; while at the same time, a decreasing working age population has to finance higher public expenditures on long-term care. Universal long-term care and better coordination are critical for these countries, according to the new World Bank study, “Long Term Care Policies for Older Populations in new EU Member States and Croatia: Challenges and Opportunities”, presented today in Sofia.
In 2025, more than one in five Bulgarians will be more than 65 years old. On average, Bulgarians live 73.3 years, with men’s life expectancy at 69.8 years and women 77 years. Today, 2,192 million Bulgarians are retired pensioners, with the average Bulgarian pensioner at 71.2 years old. There are four working Bulgarians for every elderly resident, and by 2050 there will be less than two working persons for every Bulgarian over the age of 65.
These facts trigger the obvious conclusion: soon there will be an increasing demand for long-term care services. The new World Bank report looks at who provides the care, and who pays for this care. Its findings were outlined today in Sofia for policy makers from Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia, and Croatia at a workshop co-organized by the Bulgarian Ministries of Labor and Social Services and Health.
“In looking at how other countries have approached this problem, it became clear to us that there really is no ‘one size fits all’ solution,” explained Johannes Koettl, economist in the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Human Development Sector. “From tax-financed social safety nets like Medicaid in the United States, to universal entitlements financed either from taxes as in Austria or social security contributions as in Germany and Japan, what is clear, in all cases, is that some public risk-pooling is needed. Based on our review, we are suggesting that new EU member states and Croatia consider a universal system of basic protection for all individuals requiring long-term care service.”
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