The world is facing an unprecedented growth of older adults, a sizable number of whom will require nursing home services. Although community-based care delivery systems strive to keep most of those in need at home, nursing homes are increasingly accommodating a more frail population that is straining available resources. This article focuses on common themes evident around the world regarding l...

The Health Care Financing Administration, in cooperation with other agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services, conducted surveys in 1982 and 1984 designed to develop a better understanding of the number and circumstances of functionally impaired elderly persons living in the community. This report is based on data from the 1982 Long-Term Care Survey. There were approximately 5 mil...

The description of the Swedish system still needs to be improved. On page 10 it should be said that the Swedish health system has three administrative levels: The national level which has responsibility for law, regulations, monitoring, evaluation and some national state obligations like national disease control and drug registration and drug control; The county council level which has responsi...

Health system financing is a critical factor in securing universal health care and achieving equity in access and payment. The human rights framework offers valuable guidance for designing a financing strategy that meets these goals. This article presents a rights-based approach to health care financing developed by the human right to health care movement in the United States. Grounded in a hum...

The authors of this article have used Current Population Surveys to summarize public and private health insurance trends in the United States over the last 12 years. Key findings include the declining percentage of the non-elderly population with employer-sponsored coverage and increasing numbers of low- and middle-income uninsured. That is, in a period of fast-rising health care costs, the poo...

This report describes the organisation of the Belgian long-term care system. It can be characterised as a mixed system, with extensive public care provision and the substantial support of informal care provided mainly within the family. While the current volume and quality of services appears to be adequate, the future increase in the number of dependent elderly persons over the next two decade...

Two recent national advisory committees on Social Security recommended major shifts in Medicare financing to preserve the financial viability of the Social Security trust funds. This paper estimates the income redistribution consequences of the two proposals, in contrast to current law, using a micro-simulation model of taxes and premiums. These estimates show that while the current Medicare fi...

The findings of a study of long-term care policies in 18 countries are reported in this article. Initial data were collected by a questionnaire survey under the auspices of the International Social Security Association. These data were supplemented by published documents and government statistics obtained while researching long-term care for the International Social Security Association and, su...