Long-term care insurance assists China's elderly

Nurse Tang Jianhong talks to a patient at an eldercare facility in Jiashan, Zhejiang province, earlier this month.[Photo/Xinhua]

Lu Yonglin, 79, now has people to help him look after his paralyzed wife, thanks to long-term care insurance introduced in October in Jiashan county, Zhejiang province.

An eldercare provider comes to Lu's home minutes after he calls a service company. A one-hour care package, which includes personal hygiene services and clinical care, costs between 20 yuan ($3) and 80 yuan, and will be covered by his wife's insurance.

Each month, his wife, Zhu Aiying, who receives home-based care, gets 300 yuan in cash plus electronic coupons worth 300 yuan to cover costs.

"We have a low retirement salary. The insurance helps a lot," Lu said.

Lu's wife is one of the first 299 beneficiaries since Jiashan introduced long-term care insurance in October. She has been paralyzed and bedridden since 2011, when she was diagnosed with encephalic angioma, a chronic brain condition. Lu takes care of his wife as their children work in distant cities.

"It is a heavy burden for me to provide daily care to my wife as I am getting older," said Lu.

Jiashan has an aging population, coupled with surging chronic diseases. The county has 108,000 people 60 and older, with at least 4,000 of them partially or fully disabled.

"It is the right time to introduce this new social insurance program as a preemptive approach," said Tao Wenzhou, deputy director of the Jiashan Civil Affairs Bureau.

Currently, China has five social insurance programs: healthcare, unemployment, work injury, maternity and elderly care. They are run by the government, with compulsory premiums paid by the individual and the employer.