China News Service, Beijing, March 7 (Reporter Li Tengfei) "Promoting the establishment of a long-term care insurance system" was included in this year's Chinese government work report.
As we enter an aging society, how can this "sixth social insurance" that focuses on the care of disabled elderly people reduce the burden on Chinese families?
Long-term care insurance refers to insurance that pays fees and provides services to disabled people who have lost the ability to take care of themselves due to illness, aging or disability and have to receive care at home or in a medical institution for a long time.
It is called the "sixth insurance" in addition to the five social insurances of pension, medical care, work-related injury, unemployment and maternity.
Qin Haitao, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman of the Jilin Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, quoted data as saying that by the end of 2023, China's elderly population aged 60 and above had reached 297 million, accounting for 21.1%.
According to another survey, there will be about 44 million disabled or semi-disabled elderly people in China in 2022, and this will rise to 72.79 million in 2025.
By the end of 2023, China's elderly population aged 60 and above will reach 297 million.
The picture shows an elderly person playing poker at a smart home elderly care service station in a community in Angong Community, Huayang Street, Tianfu New District, Sichuan.
Photo by China News Service reporter Zhang Lang
As the proportion of the elderly population increases, how to avoid "one person becoming disabled and the whole family becoming unbalanced" has become a topic of concern to many families.
Yu Xubo, deputy to the National People's Congress and chairman of General Technology Group, believes that comprehensively promoting the implementation of the long-term care insurance system can not only reduce the burden on families, but also avoid "poverty due to care" to a certain extent and reduce long-term dependence on hospitals for chronic diseases.
In 2016, 15 cities in China launched long-term care insurance pilot projects, which have now been expanded to 49 cities.
As of the end of 2022, the number of people insured by China's long-term care insurance reached 169 million.
"Compared with the size of the disabled population, the overall number of long-term care insurance participants is still relatively small, and there is an urgent need to expand coverage." said Huang Hongxia, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Henan Provincial Health Commission.
But where the funds for long-term care insurance come from is still a problem that needs to be solved.
Liu Juncai, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, said that at present, long-term care insurance financing in pilot cities relies heavily on medical insurance funds and has not formed an independent and stable source of financing.
In view of the current situation of narrow financing channels, Qin Haitao suggested that residents’ insurance participation should be funded through a combination of personal contributions and financial subsidies.
Explore the classification of financing standards based on different conditions such as occupation and age, and establish a dynamic adjustment mechanism that is consistent with the disposable income and social security levels of urban and rural residents.
On September 15, 2023, at the Shenzhen International Smart Elderly Care Industry Expo, visitors experienced an upper limb rehabilitation robot.
Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Wen
Yu Xubo suggested that long-term care insurance can be included in the social insurance law as an independent insurance category to promote the standardization, legalization and formalization of long-term care insurance.
At the same time, a unified and standardized financing mechanism will be established to reserve sufficient financing sources for long-term care insurance by optimizing the use of personal account funds for medical insurance, overall management, and intensive use of various national elderly-related funds.
Reducing the burden of home care is the core goal of long-term care insurance. Based on an estimate of 72.79 million disabled or semi-disabled people in 2025, China will need tens of millions of elderly care workers in the future, leaving a sizable gap.
Liu Juncai believes that it is necessary to strengthen the construction of the elderly care service industry, pay attention to the integration of medical and nursing care, promote the transformation of some first- and second-level hospitals in areas with rich medical resources into nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals, and use market-oriented mechanisms to stimulate social capital investment; and explore the establishment of " The institutional system of "social long-term care insurance as the foundation and commercial long-term care insurance as a supplement" allows commercial long-term care insurance to meet the multi-level care needs of the people.
Zhang Jinying, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice chairman of the Tianjin Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference, suggested that for the care of the elderly with dementia and disability, the government should introduce policies and provide financial support from a top-level design to "cover the bottom line" for the elderly in need; and then let social institutions and professional nursing staff provide Services are purchased by the government and families, so that care services for the elderly with dementia and disability can be long-lasting.
The nursing staff gap needs to be gradually filled through adjustments to the talent training system.
Huang Hongxia said that in the vocational education system, the curriculum structure can be adjusted in a timely manner according to the new occupations such as health care providers and elderly competency assessors, the enrollment scale can be expanded, and the training of on-the-job and willing personnel in society can be strengthened.
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