Long-term care insurance in Germany: analyzing its progress from the perspective of economic indicators

Abstract

Germany enabled public long-term care insurance (LTCI), a social insurance system, in 1995. This study focuses on the LTCI program in Germany, analyzes progress of LTCI in view of economic indicators in the inland 16 states (“Lander” in Germany), categorizes 16 states, and describes problems concerning the LTCI program. Statistical analysis was conducted using 24 variables of LTCI and the economic index. The 16 states were categorized in five clusters. The results revealed gaps in adoption rates of LTCI care services among 16 states, suggesting that each of the states developed its own service system of LTCI dependent on regional variables such as economic power and size of population. All former East German states tended to have lower economic resources of care. States with many requests for cash benefits tended to offer lower amounts of care services. The characteristics of these 16 states provide useful information for developing LTCI policies in Germany and offer an informative guide to other countries.