China News Service, Lanzhou, October 27 (Liu Xuemei) On the 27th, a press conference on the policy interpretation of the "Implementation Plan for the Establishment of a Long-term Care Insurance System in Gansu Province" was held, clarifying that it will take about three years to establish a long-term care insurance system that is suitable for the province's economic and social development level, effectively reducing the burden on families of disabled persons, and solving the social problem of "one person is disabled and the whole family is unbalanced."
Yang Wenbin, deputy director of the Gansu Provincial Medical Security Bureau, said that long-term care insurance is the "sixth insurance" after the five major social insurances of "pension, medical care, unemployment, work injury, and maternity." It is a major institutional arrangement to cope with the aging of the population and improve the multi-level social security system. It aims to provide basic life care and closely related medical care services or financial guarantees for disabled people.
In terms of the pace of promotion, Gansu adopts the strategy of "starting with municipal-level overall planning and expanding step by step": in 2026, system construction will be launched, and coordinated implementation will be organized and implemented in areas where conditions permit, focusing on covering the employee population. In 2027, the coverage of the system will be expanded to gradually include unemployed urban and rural residents. By 2028, full insurance coverage will be achieved across the province, and a long-term care insurance system adapted to Gansu’s provincial conditions will be basically established.
Gansu has a vast territory, uneven urban and rural development, rapid aging growth, and large regional differences.
Wang Shuncheng, director of the Benefit and Security Department of the Gansu Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau, said that the principle of "starting at a low level, advancing at a steady pace, and operating sustainably" did not choose full coverage in one step. Instead, the main consideration was to adopt a step-by-step rhythm of "employees first, residents follow up, and full coverage in three years", which is a stable arrangement based on the conditions of Gansu Province. With the large number of urban and rural residents, regional dispersion, weak grassroots management capabilities, and uneven nursing resources, direct full coverage in one step will easily lead to discounts in service implementation, but will harm the rights and interests of the people.
Wang Shuncheng said that the employee insurance population has a clear structure, stable payment, and mature management. The early launch can quickly run through the entire process of evaluation, handling, payment, and supervision, accumulate operational experience adapted to Gansu Province, and avoid problems such as poor processes, lack of services, and fund fluctuations after the full rollout.
According to Yang Wenbin, the scope of insurance includes employers and their employees, retirees, flexible employment personnel, and unemployed urban and rural residents, etc., breaking urban and rural, identity, and occupational barriers to achieve all the protections they should have. The government will provide full or fixed-amount subsidies to the needy people such as extremely poor people and subsistence allowance recipients to ensure that the needy people can "afford to participate and be guaranteed".
It is understood that in the initial stage of the system, the focus is on protecting insured persons who have been assessed as severely disabled. To enjoy benefits, they must meet the normal insurance premiums, have been disabled for more than 6 months, and have been assessed as severely disabled by a unified standard. The service items implement the national unified long-term care insurance service item catalog, including 20 daily care items such as assistance with eating, bathing, and oral cleaning, and 16 medical care items such as sputum suction and catheterization, for a total of 36 items.
Wang Shuncheng said that in order to ensure fair treatment and fund security, all localities will "share the same ruler" in the assessment of disability levels and use unified national assessment standards. The assessment results will be mutually recognized across the province. According to the current assessment standards, disability is divided into three levels: mild, moderate and severe.
Currently, there are three main types of places that provide long-term care services for disabled people in Gansu, and the insured can choose independently. Those who choose home care will receive door-to-door services from designated institutions; those who choose community care such as designated day care centers will receive part-time services nearby; those who choose to stay in designated institutions and receive institutional care will have full-day services provided by the institutions.
Since the wish of most elderly people is to “remain at home without leaving home”, the “Implementation Plan for Establishing a Long-term Care Insurance System in Gansu Province” also encourages the use of home care and community care, giving priority to fund payment, so that the elderly can obtain services and protection at home and at their doorsteps.
