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Long‐term Care: A Suitable Case for Social Insurance
Author(s) -
Barr Nicholas
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
social policy and administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.972
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1467-9515
pISSN - 0144-5596
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9515.2010.00718.x
Subject(s) - argument (complex analysis) , social insurance , term (time) , actuarial science , key person insurance , business , welfare , long term care insurance , public economics , self insurance , insurance policy , economics , health insurance , long term care , health care , market economy , economic growth , medicine , physics , nursing , quantum mechanics
There are potentially large welfare gains if people can buy insurance that covers the costs of long‐term care. However, technical problems – largely information problems – face both the providers of insurance and potential buyers. These problems on both the supply and demand sides of the market suggest that the actuarial mechanism is not well suited to addressing risks associated with long‐term care. This line of argument underpins the article's main conclusion – that social insurance is a better fit.