China expands long-term care insurance scheme trials

BEIJING -- China has added 14 regions to its trials for a long-term care insurance scheme to explore the establishment of a new type of insurance to ensure long-term care for people with severe disabilities.

The newly added regions, including Beijing's Shijingshan district, North China's Tianjin municipality, and Fuzhou in Eastern China's Fujian province, bring the total number of the scheme's pilot regions to 49, according to the guidelines jointly issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) and the Ministry of Finance.

The trials for the scheme were launched in several provincial-level regions in 2016. The scheme provides services or funds for basic and medical care for people with long-term disabilities.

"The establishment of the long-term care insurance scheme is a major institutional arrangement of the country to deal with an aging population," an official with the NHSA said.

By the end of 2019, China had more than 250 million people aged 60 and above and over 40 million elderly people with disabilities.