Social support systems Organisation and financing of social
support to people with dementia and carers Background
information on the social/healthcare system in Lithuania In the
late 18th century, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire.
After the First World War, it became an independent state but
was absorbed into the USSR after the Second World War. Between
1918 and 1940, Lithuania began to develop a health care system
based on the Bismarck model. However, after the country’s
absorption into the USSR, health care was reorganised according
to the Semashko system. In March 1990, Lithuania declared its
independence from the USSR and undertook a series of reforms of
the health care system (Cerniauskas, G. and Murauskiene, L.
2000). Nowadays, the Ministry of Health is responsible for the
general supervision of the entire health care system but social
care is the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Security
and Labour. In the last few years, new legislation has been
passed on the integration of disabled