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31 July 2025 | Country Update
New phase in the implementation of the Long-term Care Act -
15 September 2023 | Policy Analysis
Adoption of a new Long-Term Care Act (2023) -
17 December 2021 | Country Update
Long-term Care Act adopted by Parliament in December 2021
5.8. Long term care
The rights and services of LTC are the joint responsibility of the MoH and the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and are regulated under different sets of legislation, including for pensions: Pension and Disability Insurance Act (1999), War Veterans Act (1995) and War Disability Act (1995); health care: Health Care and Health Insurance Act (1992); and social and family care: Social Security Act (1992), Financial Social Assistance Act (1992), Exercise of Rights to Public Funds Act (2010) and Parental Protection and Family Benefit Act (2014). As there is no single overarching regulation specifically concerning LTC (Council of the EU, 2014; Meglič Črnak et al., 2014) the rights and services for the elderly, chronically ill, disabled and other individuals with special long-term needs are provided through different routes across the health, social care and pension and disability sectors, with different entry points and different procedures concerning the assessment of entitlements for financial support for LTC. Consequently, a certain number of people in need of these services might end up benefiting more from current arrangements in place than others, or their needs might remain unrecognized altogether.
In 2017, the MoH undertook the preparation and coordination of multiple projects – under the common title “Implementation and execution of pilot projects, supporting the transition into the implementation of system Act on Long-term Care” – in LTC as well as the drafting of the LTC Act (Ministry of Health, 2018). The objective of the projects, which ran from 2018–2020, was to test mechanisms and services planned in the framework of proposed legal solutions included in the Act in various environments (e.g. urban, rural and semirural). These include the establishment and functional set-up of a universal entry point of access; testing of a new scale for the assessment of the right to LTC (see section 3.7.1); enabling and testing new services; training of professionals; and the introduction of information support to all the processes.
The draft Act was first opened to public discussion in 2017, and then again in August 2020 (Ministry of Public Administration, 2021). It is currently in the phase of inter-ministerial harmonization and is expected to be adopted by Parliament in late 2021 (see Chapter 6). The need for a universal systemic solution for LTC was further reinforced by the COVID-19 pandemic (see sections 3.7.1 and Chapter 6).
In addition, reform measures in the field of LTC within health care will be addressed in the framework of the European Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The 2023 Long-Term Care Act (Poldrugovac, 2023) foresaw the implementation of long-term care (LTC) support in phases. In January 2025, the right to compensation for carers who live with the person needing support was implemented. On 1 July 2025, the right to home care services according to the new Act came into force. Additionally, on the same day, the provisions related to e-care were also implemented. These are mainly financial support mechanisms for individuals taking advantage of smart technologies, such as personal smart alarms and GPS systems, that increase the safety and autonomy of individuals.
Furthermore, as of July, a new compulsory contribution to support the long-term care system was introduced, as foreseen by the Long-Term Care Act. The contribution for employers and employees is set to 1% of gross salary for each, while retirees will pay a 1% contribution out of their net pension.
Authors
References
Ministry for Solidarity-Based Future, 2025. 1. julij: nadaljnji koraki v vzpostavitvi novega stebra socialne države [1 July: further steps in establishing a new pillar of the welfare state] Available at https://www.gov.si/novice/2025-07-01-1-julij-nadaljnji-koraki-v-vzpostavitvi-novega-stebra-socialne-drzave
Larisa Daugul, 2025. Kaj prinaša nov sistem dolgotrajne oskrbe? [What does the new long-term care system bring?]. MMC RTV SLO. Available at https://www.rtvslo.si/slovenija/kaj-prinasa-nov-sistem-dolgotrajne-oskrbe/747291
Poldrugovac, 2023. Adoption of a new Long-Term Care Act (2023). Available at: https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/analyses/hspm/slovenia-2022/adoption-of-a-new-long-term-care-act-(2023) (last accessed on 14 August 2025).
On 21 July 2023 the National Assembly adopted the Long-term Care Act, replacing the Long-term Care Act (2021) (see “Long-Term Care Act adopted by Parliament in December 2021” https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/updates/hspm/slovenia-2022/long-term-care-act-adopted-by-parliament-in-december-2021).
In November 2022, the application of some of the provisions of the 2021 Act was postponed via a referendum, leading to a new Ministry of Solidarity-Based Future was established with, among others, responsibilities for LTC. The Ministry submitted the new 2023 Act in June 2023, keeping most of the main solutions foreseen in the previous Act, with a notable exception being the financing arrangements for LTC.
The provisions described refer to the 2023 Act:
Access to LTC is ensured via “compulsory insurance for long-term care”. The 2023 Long-term Care Act introduces a new nationally standardized instrument to assess individual needs for (and rights to) for LTC. The assessment instrument was piloted in several settings prior to the adoption of the Act. These assessments will be performed at so-called “entry points” in local Centres for Social Work and allocated a person to 1 of 5 LTC categories. The resulting category designated to an individual more specifically determines the level of need and the extent to which each of these services will be available to them.
The types of LTC support determined by the Act are:
- continuous LTC in institutions
- daily LTC in institutions
- LTC at home
- care provided by a family member, and
- right to monetary transfers.
Funds for LTC insurance will be collected from employers and employees similarly to health insurance contributions, whereby each (that is, employer and employee) will contribute 1% of the worker’s salary. Special provisions apply to particular employment arrangements, for example, self-employed persons. Additionally, €190 million (approximately 0.4% of Slovenia’s GDP) will be added annually from the national budget.
According to government estimates, the full set of services and the full costs of the new system will be apparent in 2026. Total LTC expenditure is estimated to increase from 1.45% of GDP in 2020 to 1.72% of GDP in 2026. Nominally, the private contribution to expenditure is expected to increase (from €164 million in 2020 to €244 million in 2026). However, given higher total spending on LTC, private expenditure as a share of total LTC expenditure is expected to decrease from 24.1% to 18.7%.
A major challenge to the implementation of the Act in full is the timely and effective upgrade or establishment of LTC services foreseen in the Act, especially strengthening capacity for home care.
Authors
References
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 84/23 (available at https://www.uradni-list.si/glasilo-uradni-list-rs/vsebina/2023-01-2570?sop=2023-01-2570)
Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 196/21 and following (available at http://www.pisrs.si/Pis.web/pregledPredpisa?id=ZAKO7621)
Social Protection Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, Priprava podlag za izvedbo pilotnih projektov, ki bodo podpirali prehod v izvajanje sistemskega zakona o dolgotrajni oskrbi [Preparation of the foundations for the implementation of pilot projects that will support the transition to the implementation of the Long-Term Care Act], Ljubljana: Social Protection Institute of the Republic of Slovenia, 2017.
Ministry of Health, Izvedba pilotnih projektov, ki bodo podpirali prehod v izvajanje sistemskega zakona o dolgotrajni oskrbi [Implementation of pilot projects that will support the transition to the implementation of the Long-Term Care Act], Web resource available at https://www.gov.si/zbirke/projekti-in-programi/izvedba-pilotnih-projektov-ki-bodo-podpirali-prehod-v-izvajanje-sistemskega-zakona-o-dolgotrajni-oskrbi
Ministry of Health, Preoblikovanje obstoječih mrež ter vstop novih izvajalcev za nudenje skupnostnih storitev in programov za starejše [Transformation of existing networks and entry of new providers to offer community services and programs for the elderly], web resource available at https://www.gov.si/zbirke/projekti-in-programi/prilagoditev-in-preoblikovanje-obstojecih-mrez-institucionalnega-varstva-ter-vstop-novih-izvajalcev-za-nudenje-skupnostnih-storitev-in-programov-za-starejse
Proposal of Government to Parliament to adopt the Long-term Care Act, available at https://imss.dz-rs.si/IMiS/ImisAdmin.nsf/ImisnetAgent?OpenAgent&2&DZ-MSS-01/f6a83ef74c5e82949c453cfbc2edb300a7db29797d43f941139bb09356bc566b
Long-term care (LTC) reform in Slovenia has been on the policy agenda since the 2000s. Historically, LTC has been the joint, or rather, shifting responsibility of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities and service provision and financing are fragmented. Recently, there have been several efforts to streamline LTC functions, including a new Directorate at MoH in 2016 to develop, coordinate and implement an overarching LTC Act, though this was ultimately downgraded to a Service. The need for universal systemic reform of LTC was underlined by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In December 2021, after some delay, the new Act on LTC was adopted by Parliament, and includes a framework for financing, service provision and training for new staff. The enactment of the new law in the nursing homes is expected from 1 January 2023 and the launch of the new financing scheme from 1 January 2024. With financing only slated to start in 2024, Slovenia’s LTC is currently in an intermediary situation with the system depending on financial resources of the past. With the Minister of Health being the vice-president of the biggest political party in Slovenia, LTC remains a priority, with another Service for Long Term Care established.
References
Homepage of the Government and the MoH of Slovenia: https://www.gov.si/en/state-authorities/ministries/ministry-of-health/