Les politiques de la dépendance analysées à travers le prisme de l’économie de la santé: une comparaison France – Pays-Bas

With population ageing, elderly care is at the heart of the public debate. Do existing policies ensure that access to long-term care is both equitable and efficient? This article shows how the concepts and methods from applied economics, and from health economics, can bring insight into these questions. It is based upon two empirical studies, which were conducted in the contexts of France and the Netherlands. The studies show that existing policies do not necessarily ensure horizontal equity in long-term care use, nor vertical equity in out-of-pocket payments. They also shed light on the role of needs assessment processes as a key cog of long-term care policies. The enrichment of information systems will certainly help further documenting the performance of such policies; yet this will also require modelling developments to better consider the specific nature of long-term care.