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Means testing and the heterogeneity of housing assets: funding long-term care in Spain
- Authors:
- COSTA-FONT Joan, MARSCARILLA-MIRO Oscar, ELVIRA David
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Administration, 40(5), October 2006, pp.543-559.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The access to publicly funded long-term care (LTC) in Spain has been traditionally rationed through the use of means tests based on individuals' current income and needs. However, individuals' wealth, primarily housing assets, is progressively taken into account. Parallel to this feature, the responsibilities for the organization of LTC services have been devolved to region-states – autonomous communities (ACs), giving rise to some regional heterogeneity, though limited evidence has been reported on the underlying determinants. This paper examines the current role of housing assets in determining public and private funding for long-term care in Spain. Secondly, we present a qualitative and quantitative examination of the regional heterogeneity in the provision and public funding criteria determining eligibility for public support for LTC. Finally, we report survey evidence on the individual's willingness to sell (WTS) their housing assets in order to either totally or partially finance the access to LTC. Our findings suggest that housing assets are the main source of wealth accumulation at old age. Yet there is significant regional heterogeneity in the access to LTC resulting from regional differences in the means testing criteria. Progressively, all ACs are considering housing assets in their means testing criteria. Interestingly, individuals' willingness to sell their housing assets declines with age and is more common among less skilled and widowed individuals.
The design of the long-term care system in Spain: policy and financial constraints
- Authors:
- COSTA-FONT Joan, PATXOT Concepio
- Journal article citation:
- Social Policy and Society, 4(1), January 2005, pp.11-20.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
The provision and financing of long-term care (LTC) in Spain has only recently become a policy concern. However, welfare policy reforms show the need to anticipate the effects of a transition from the traditional ‘family-based’ model of care (78 per cent of Spanish elders who are disabled are treated by their own families) to a modern ‘community-based’ model. This paper examines the current models of providing and funding long-term care in Spain and on the basis of the empirical evidence evaluates the prospects for the future organisation and funding of the system.