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In forceElderly and housing

New Elderly Care Act Introduces Com­pre­hen­si­ve Care

Official title (in Danish): Ældrelov

Act · L 89 (2024-25) · Lov nr. 1651 af 30.12.2024 · Børne-, Ældre- og Boligministeriet

In short

Reading time: 1 min
  • What changes: A new elderly care act consolidates regulations on elderly care and introduces comprehensive care.
  • Who: Elderly individuals receiving help from elderly care services, municipalities, and private providers of elderly care.
  • When: The Act entered into force on 1 July 2025.

Written by AI from verbatim quotes from the source and checked by code and AI. Dates, tables and the fact box are calculated by fixed rules. Unofficial translation. Always read the original.

The Elderly Care Act is a new primary law for elderly care. It changes the way elderly care is regulated.

According to the bill, the act shall among other things give elderly individuals greater self-determination. Municipalities shall have greater freedom to organize elderly care according to local needs.

The act introduces a principle of comprehensive care. This means that help for the elderly must be planned and executed as one coherent process. Managers and staff will have more room to organize the process.

Elderly individuals can choose between at least two providers of comprehensive care. One may be the municipality.

Private providers must offer comprehensive care. This expands citizens' free choice, as agreed in the elderly care reform.

According to the bill, self-determination, care, and good relationships are crucial for elderly individuals to live a life with joy.

Sources and original

Read the official text (in Danish) →

The case at the Danish Parliament (ft.dk)

Source: Retsinformation.dk

Translated from Danish · The Danish version and the original source apply.

Summary by the Danish Parliament (in Danish)

Forslag til ældrelov er en ny hovedlov for reguleringen af ældreplejen og indfører en række ændringer i den måde, ældreplejen reguleres på. Loven skal bl.a. understøtte større selvbestemmelse for ældre og større frihed for kommunerne til at tilrettelægge ældreplejen efter lokale behov. Med loven indføres bl.a. et princip om helhedspleje, hvormed hjælpen til ældre skal tilrettelægges og udføres som et sammenhængende forløb, og hvor ledere og medarbejdere i ældreplejen får større rum til at fastsætte tilrettelæggelsen af borgerens forløb. Endelig skal lovforslaget styrke ældre borgeres mulighed for at vælge leverandør af helhedspleje og madudbringning. Lovforslaget udmønter dele af ”Aftale om en reform af ældreområdet”, som blev indgået i april 2024 af regeringen (Moderaterne, Socialdemokratiet og Venstre), Dan­marks­de­mokraterne, Socialistisk Folkeparti, Liberal Alliance, Det Konservative Folkeparti og Radikale Venstre.

Source: Folketinget (ft.dk). Reproduced unchanged.

Timeline

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  1. Introduced · 7 November 2024
    Status in the Danish Parliament: Fremsat
  2. Passed · 19 December 2024
    Status in the Danish Parliament: 3.beh./Vedtaget
  3. Stadfæstet · 30 December 2024
    Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet
  4. In force · 1 July 2025
    Status in the Danish Parliament: Stadfæstet