Abstract:

In the field of social services, a new public management channel has emerged specifically for non-profit organisations, known as the concerted action agreement or social agreement. When the public administration wants to operate with private entities, it can use these new types of public service contracts that include social clauses.
Since 2015, the Valencian Community has been taking advantage of these regulatory changes on public contracts to reform its residential social services through the “Plan de Reordenación del sector residencial para personas mayores de la C. Valenciana” (Plan for the reorganisation of the residential sector for the elderly in the Valencian Community). Through this plan, some economic benefits are modified, the available residential resources are extended and improved, and the agreements of concerted action for non-profit entities and the social clauses of public contracts for other private entities are regulated.
In this study, we will first analyse how the interaction between economic agents and the Generalitat Valenciana to manage social services for the elderly will be, and secondly, we will study the possible effects that this residential reorganisation plan will generate in terms of efficiency and equity. For the moment, the results on efficiency are ambiguous, because although more companies are competing, there is still business concentration and market dominance by a few of them; but prices give way to social clauses, and the new economic benefits speed up waiting lists slightly. On the equity side, there is a rapprochement in the financial treatment between non-profit and for-profit entities, and greater access for older people to benefits linked to residential services.

Reference:

Tortosa, M.A.; Granell, R.; Fuenmayor, A. (2018): “Nuevas vías de concertación social y sus efectos sobre las residencias de personas mayores en la Comunidad Valenciana”. Informes Envejecimiento en red, nº 21. Madrid: CSIC.