Comparative Analysis of Long-Term Care in OECD Countries: Focusing on Long-Term Care Financing Type

This study aims to examine the characteristics of long-term care (LTC) financing in Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) countries. To this end, the 26 OECD countries that have introduced LTC systems were classified into three types of models: tax-based, health insurance, and LTC insurance (LTCI) systems. Thereafter, these systems were analyzed using Gilbert and Terrell’s policy analysis framework. The results indicated differences in the characteristics of each type of financing in terms of allocation, benefit provision, service delivery, and finance. It is likely that while the LTC insurance model was mainly based on universalism and showed the highest level of coverage, the tax-based and health insurance models adopted selectivism with lower level of benefits per capita. In terms of service delivery, local authorities tended to have the responsibility to decide LTC service users and provide services in many countries, regardless of the type of model. In terms of finance, LTC insurance-based countries had the highest LTC expenditure as a percentage of GDP, followed by countries with tax-based and health insurance systems.