Without a stronger focus on healthy ageing, population ageing will have a strong impact on health and long-term care expenditures. This report discusses how a stronger focus on preventive interventions and reablement helps promote healthy ageing. It highlights that promoting healthcare closer to people and more integrated care are cost-effective interventions for older people.

Appropriate and adapted housing and sufficiently affordable home care are also necessary to ensure that people can age well at home. Yet, for some older adults, social isolation calls for innovative community solutions to be developed such as expanding day care and communal living with services.

The report flags effective preventive policies as well as policies to adapt the health system better to population ageing.
It includes policy options to improve long-term care at home and in the community.

Key findings

• While healthy ageing holds the potential to lower projected health and long-term care expenses, countries are not fully reaping its potential.
• More emphasis on prevention and community care improves economic returns to healthy behaviours.
• A lack of adapted homes, easy access and affordable home and community care services limits the ability for older people to age in the community.
• Such shortcomings call for greater policy priority and measures to incentivise healthy ageing close to older people’s homes.