Examination of the care insurance application and the need for care insurance from the perspective of Turkey

This study aims to draw attention to the necessity of care insurance by including care insurance practices in our rapidly aging country. The scope and boundaries of this study, the conceptual framework of the care insurance application, the reasons that reveal the need for care insurance and country examples of care insurance, the current situation of our country in care services and the care insurance practice in our country are examined. In this study, critical source analysis and descriptive analysis methods were used. In terms of critical source analysis, Turkish and English sources in the literature were examined. In this context, it has been seen that there are different definitions and applications about care insurance. It has been observed that socio-economic conditions, traditions and customs are effective when defining the application of care insurance and choosing the application method. From the point of view of descriptive analysis, it should be emphasized that the data to be used in this study are important factors that reveal the need for care insurance. Because this study accepts the fact that our country is aging rapidly as a research problem. The thematic structure of this study consists of the change in demographic structure (average life expectancy, fertility rates, elderly dependency ratios) and the increase in the elderly population, the change in family structure and the increase in health expenditures as the most important factors in the implementation of the care insurance application. According to the data obtained from TÜİK, the rate of elderly population in our country in 2021 is 9.7%. The proportion of the elderly population is expected to increase to 16.3% in 2040, 22.6% in 2060 and 25.6% in 2080. In other words, it is expected that one in four people in Turkey will be old in 2080. According to the Turkish Family Structure research published in 2018, while the extended family structure is shrinking in our country, the nuclear family structure and the dispersed family structure are increasing. While the nuclear family structure in 2016 is 69.3%, the extended family structure is 10.8% and the broken family structure is 19.9%. According to the data obtained from TUIK, the share of the state in health expenditures is increasing. While the share of the state in health expenditures was 61.1% in 2000, it increased to 67.8% in 2005, 78.6% in 2010, 78.5% in 2015 and 79% in 2020. In addition to these indicators that reveal the need for long-term care insurance, structured interviews were conducted with 7 social security experts in order to determine their views on long-term care insurance.