New approaches to assessment of the degree of dependency for the purposes of care allowance for persons older 65 years

Summary

The article is analysing the development of the number of the degree of dependency applications assessment and the criteria for assessing persons older 65 years.

Care allowance is a senior benefit, because 75 % of all its recipients and of all assessed persons are seniors. In the year 2012–2020 there is gradual decrease of the number of assesses at persons older 65 years. In 2020 there were 3,7 % less assesses than in 2012. This is the same trend as at assesses for all age groups, in this category there were 13,3 % less assesses in 2020 than in 2012. In the article authors pursue to the criteria for assessing the degree of dependence at seniors which are the same as the criteria for the whole age group for older than 18 years old. Current criteria have been in effect since 2012 and were slightly modificated in 2016, but without specification for seniors. Authors compare the criteria for persons under 18 and persons above 18 and recommend make special criteria for persons older than 65 years which will respect medical and functional specifics of this age. Another option is to connect the degree of dependence with the range of disability at the most frequent index diseases of the senior´s age like dementia. In the end authors recommend to make new assessing criteria with cooperation of the professional medical groups and the medical assessment service.

Keywords:

medical assessment service – degree of dependence – social investigation