The cost of elderly care in Aruba 2025-2040

ORANJESTAD – Recently, the Ministry of Transport, Integrity, Nature, and Elderly Affairs, together with the Department of Elderly Affairs (DOZ), presented a summary of the advisory report: "Organization of Nursing and Care (Elderly Care) in Aruba". 

AAG Financial Services, under the guidance of Ms. Alida de Jong, was responsible for compiling this report.

The fundamental report's idea is that the government needs to guarantee that senior care in Aruba is accessible, reasonably priced, and of excellent quality. 

Currently, 18.9% of Aruba's population is 65 years or older. Additionally, 13.3% have at least one limitation, 10% require assistance with household tasks or personal care, 5.1% are in poor or very poor health, 2.4% live in a care home, and 150 people are on SABA's waiting list. Given the aging Aruban population, it is crucial to understand the costs associated with elderly care.

The report calculates current costs and projects the cost development up to 2040.

To estimate the cost of elderly care, they considered three factors:

  1. The number of people in need of care.
  2. The type and intensity of care required.
  3. The costs of personnel, housing, and inventory related to elderly care.

The calculations indicate that by 2025, a total of 2,825 people will require care, of which:

  • 2,160 people (76%) will need home care;
  • 665 people (24%) will require institutional care.

The number of people needing care will increase by 87%, reaching 5,276 people over the next 15 years.

Based on the number of care recipients and the related costs, it is projected that by 2025, total costs will reach 102.9 million florins. Even though the number of people requiring home care is almost three times higher than those needing institutional care, the cost of institutional care is significantly higher:

  • Home care: 44.3 million florins.
  • Institutional care: 58.6 million florins.

For this reason, two scenarios were created to calculate the overall cost of care in the event that there was a 50% or 75% decrease in the number of individuals requiring institutional care. The results clearly show that reducing the number of institutionalized elderly leads to substantial cost savings.

  • A 75% reduction in institutionalized care recipients would result in a 47% cost reduction by 2040.

Conclusion

The study concludes that structural adjustments are necessary to guarantee that elderly care is financially viable. The focus should be on providing as much care as possible at home for elderly individuals.