Prime Minister Golob: "From January onward, the bills of care home residents will be lower"

SLOVENIA, December 5 - In a statement to the media made after his visit, Prime Minister Golob thanked the employees of the Šiška Care Home. "I would like to express my sincere gratitude and heartfelt congratulations to all employees who have shown such dedication in caring for the most vulnerable members of our community. I could see the gratitude of the residents and the pleasant atmosphere in this care home for myself today," he said.

The Prime Minister went on to say that, in December, long-term care will enter its most intensive phase, with a single objective. "Today I saw that this goal can indeed be achieved. That is, that the amount residents have to pay on their January bills for December will be considerably lower. Bills issued in January will be significantly lower than those to date," he stressed.

The Prime Minister said that the system in place before December had been unfair. "The previous system was unfair because those residents with the fewest resources had to pay the most for care. The more vulnerable a person was and the more they needed our help, the higher the amount charged by the care home," he stressed.

He presented the main advantages brought by the new system of long-term care. "As of 1 December, we will revert to the fair solution, whereby everyone pays the same amount for the residential part," said the Prime Minister, adding "We will ease the burden on people’s dignity, ease the burden on their pensions and, above all, on their families."

"I believe this is truly a civilizational project and, as I saw today, everyone in care homes is fully committed to ensuring that it is successfully completed in December, so that bills will be lower in the new year," concluded Prime Minister Robert Golob.

Simon Strgar, Director of the Šiška Care Home, thanked the Prime Minister for his visit on behalf of the residents and employees. "This is an acknowledgement of the good work that we do, primarily for our residents, who are the reason we are here," he said. He added that all the residents of their care home had given their consent to the conversion. "I also believe that the vast majority will choose to sign a personal plan, as they understand that this means they will have a little more left from their pension, while ensuring that their families won’t have to pay for their services," he said. "We promise that we will do everything in our power to make sure that this project succeeds. We will deal with all minor issues as they arise and work together to achieve our goal of reducing care home residents’ bills and further improving old-age care for people who practically built this country," he said.

The full implementation of institutional long-term care on 1 December is an important milestone in ensuring more accessible, high-quality and comprehensive support for the elderly and their families. After decades of waiting, a public, solidarity-based and universal system of long-term care has been established that increases accessibility. This, coupled with record investment in care homes, enables the elderly in Slovenia to age with dignity. This reform will also significantly lower monthly costs for households. Bills for institutional care will now be between EUR 200 and EUR 800 lower. This is the biggest step toward a fairer and more inclusive society in decades.