RESUMEN
In 2016, China launched long-term care insurance (LTCI) pilot programs in 15 cities across the country. In this Commentary, we provide an overview of these pilots regarding the target insured population, sources of financing, beneficiary eligibility criteria, and benefit design. We offer perspectives on the strengths and limitations, implementation challenges, and future prospects of these ongoing pilots. Also, we highlight the needs for addressing several key policy issues and challenges before further expanding these programs toward national implementation. These include solidifying the LTCI financing pool for independence and self-sustainability, balancing national priorities and local needs in LTCI design, reducing coverage gaps and disparities, ensuring quality of care through pay-for-performance and regulatory oversight, and strengthening independent evaluation of LTCI implementation and impacts.
China is piloting public social insurance as its core long-term care financing strategy.Current long-term care insurance pilots vary greatly in program design across pilot sites.Long-term care insurance financing should move away from current over-reliance on existing health insurance funds toward independence and self-sustainability.While balancing national priorities, it is essential to design and implement appropriate long-term care insurance programs locally.China should dedicate time and resources to allow for sufficient policy learning, adaption, and evaluation through ongoing pilot programs.
RESUMEN
In China, the population is rapidly ageing and the capacity of the system that cares for older people is increasingly a concern. In this Review, we provide a profile of the long-term care system and policy landscape in China. The long-term care system is characterised by rapid growth of the residential care sector, slow development of home and community-based services, and increasing involvement of the private sector. The long-term care workforce shortage and weak quality assurance are concerning. Public long-term care financing is minimal and largely limited to supporting welfare recipients and subsidising the construction of residential care beds and operating costs. China is piloting social insurance long-term care financing models and, concurrently, programmes for integrating health care and long-term care services in selected settings across the country; the effectiveness and sustainability of these pilots remain to be seen. Informed by international long-term care experiences, we offer policy recommendations to strengthen the evolving care system for older people in China.
Asunto(s)
Envejecimiento/fisiología , Financiación Gubernamental/economía , Política de Salud , Cuidados a Largo Plazo , Anciano , China , Atención a la Salud , Humanos , Instituciones ResidencialesRESUMEN
Globally, aging populations are driving the demand for long-term care (LTC) services for a growing number of older people with disabilities or chronic illnesses. A key challenge for policy-makers in all countries is to find a comprehensive solution to financing LTC services to make them widely accessible, affordable, and equitable for all in need. In this commentary, we make a case for LTC policy-makers and reformers across countries to take a long-term vision toward establishing a public, mandatory social insurance model of LTC financing. We first take a hard look at the LTC financing problems and the limitations of existing financing options. We then argue for a public social insurance approach to LTC financing and offer insights into several top-level insurance design features that are key to successful implementation of a public social insurance model, building on the experiences and lessons learned from Japan and other countries that have already "gotten there." We conclude with additional thoughts on the future of public LTC insurance in a global context, including the prospect of spreading this model to middle-income countries.