Order No. 594 on free choice of provider for care and support programmes under section 10 of the Elderly Care Act and meal delivery under section 13 of the Elderly Care Act.

This Order regulates the free choice of providers for care and support programmes and meal delivery under the Danish Elderly Care Act. It applies to municipal councils’ calculation of settlement prices for private providers and the value of free-choice certificates, requiring these to be based on the municipality’s average long-term costs for comparable municipal services, including direct and indirect costs but excluding authority-administration costs and health-care services under the Health Act. It requires municipal councils to set deadlines for recipients to switch providers, decide on free-choice certificates for eligible citizens, guide citizens on the contractual basis with their chosen provider, and ensure that citizens receive no cash payment and are not liable for payment to the provider. The Order also regulates tendering or approval models, market-price calculations where no municipal cost basis exists, annual recalculation and adjustment of prices, retroactive payment or repayment where prices were set too low or too high, citizens’ right to be informed about the scheme, three months’ notice if the scheme is ended, and equal, objective and non-discriminatory quality requirements for all providers.