Austria's new social welfare provision, an attendance allowance, adopted in 1993, is a prototype for a consumer-directed care model for persons who are frail or disabled. This article describes the background to and provisions of the new legislation, including the unique political interests from the left and the right that converged to facilitate its passage. The author discusses eligibility criteria, the consumer autonomy principles underlying the model, and the impacts and implications anticipated. Such a model has been mentioned as an option for states considering creative expansion of long-term care provisions in the United States.
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