Long-term care in the United States and Finland: policy lessons to be learned

Gerontological nurses are crucial members of long-term care (LTC) policy development teams as they work toward the provision of quality, equitable, seamless, and affordable LTC for all. When developing LTC policies in the United States, it is useful to explore such services in other countries. This policy brief provides an overview of LTC services in Finland to examine possible policy lessons for U.S. LTC service and delivery. Finland provides LTC to its older adult population under a universal program whereby services are provided as part of their universal health care and social services coverage. The U.S. system provides LTC primarily under Medicaid along with some coverage financed under Medicare. The challenges in the U.S. system include fragmented LTC delivery and financing, increasing LTC costs, and maintaining quality of care. Although difficult to compare the LTC costs in these two countries, available data suggest that Finland spends less on LTC the older adult population.