To help reform its long-term care system, the United States may be wise to look across the Atlantic, a new study from AARP finds.

Germany’s experience sustaining its long-term care system provides valuable lessons for the debate in the U.S., according to the study, “Comparing Long-Term Care in Germany and the United States.” Unlike the U.S., everyone in Germany who needs long-term care receives benefits in the setting that best meets their needs. AARP’s Public Policy Institute prepared the report.

Also, approximately 90% of the German population is covered through a public social insurance approach, and 10% is covered under private mandatory long-term care insurance, the report said. Germany spends about the same proportion of its gross domestic product on long-term care as the U.S.

See more at http://www.aarp.org/research/longtermcare/trends/2007_19_usgerman_ltc.html .