The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and State Council have released the Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Development of Elderly Care Services. The aim is to accelerate the construction of an elderly care service system suitable for China’s national conditions, ensuring that the elderly have a sense of security.
Primary Goals
The primary goals are to establish a basic elderly care service network by 2029, significantly enhancing service capabilities and levels, making significant progress in expanding and improving quality and efficiency, and continuously optimizing the supply of basic elderly care services. By 2035, the plan is to have a more robust elderly care service network, with more coordinated and matching service supply and demand, ensuring all elderly people enjoy basic elderly care services and an established mature and standardized elderly care service system suitable for China’s national conditions.
Specific Measures
The specific measures include:
- Accelerating the Improvement of the Class 3 Elderly Care Service Network
- Covering urban and rural areas, including the construction of county-level comprehensive elderly care service management platforms.
- Strengthening the capacity building of elderly care services in township (street) areas.
- Improving village (community) elderly care service facilities and stations.
- Integrating and Coordinating Three Types of Elderly Care Services
- Home, community, and institutional care services will be integrated.
- The government will consolidate the basic role of home-based elderly care, strengthen the support role of community elderly care, and optimize the professional support role of institutional elderly care.
- Promote the integration of medical care and elderly care, fill gaps in rural elderly care services, and strengthen and improve the comprehensive supervision of elderly care services, including improving standards and evaluation systems.
- Establishing a Tripartite Collaborative Mechanism
- The document underlines the government’s leading role in the development of elderly care services, its role in market allocation of resources, and the role of social participation in elderly care services.
- Enhancing Security of Elderly Care Service Elements
- The government vows to scientifically plan the layout of elderly care service facilities, improve relevant financial support policies, and strengthen the construction of the elderly care service talent team.
- It will also vigorously develop elderly care finance and accelerate the development and application of elderly care technology and information technology, such as humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces, and artificial intelligence.
Significance of the Reforms
These reforms highlight the government’s commitment to improving the quality of life for the elderly in China. By enhancing the elderly care service system, the government aims to ensure that the elderly have access to high-quality care and support, aligning with the country’s national conditions and social needs.-Fineline Info & Tech
