China has announced the rollout of a long-term care insurance system, a policy move aimed at easing pressure on families caring for a fast-growing elderly population and adding more weight to the country’s social safety net, according to reuters.
The plan, released by China’s State Council on Wednesday, promises services or financial support for basic nursing and medical care for people living with sustained disabilities lasting six months or longer.
Xinhua said the system forms an important part of China’s social security framework and ties directly to the government’s response to population ageing.
The timing matters. The announcement came about three weeks after China’s National People’s Congress, where officials said they would refine support policies for older people, including pension financing, wellness, and elderly care. The pressure is building from every direction.
By 2035, China expects its population aged over 60 to reach 400 mn, roughly equal to the combined populations of the US and Italy.
That means hundreds of millions of people will move out of the workforce at a point when pension budgets already face strain.
Demographic pressure is not easing either. Experts are warning of further population declines after China’s population fell for a fourth straight year in 2025, with the birth rate dropping to a record low.
The new long-term care insurance framework sets a three-year goal to build what officials described as a unified system covering the whole population. It builds on pilot programmes first launched in 2016.
For disabled individuals, officials said the programme addresses a basic need and should materially improve quality of life.
Wang Wenjun, deputy head of the National Healthcare Security Administration, said services such as bathing, haircuts, eating assistance, and dressing changes are no longer distant hopes for people confined to bed, but care intended to be available at the bedside and delivered with consistency.
Funding will come from employers, individuals, and government subsidies, with a total contribution rate of about 0.3%.
Wang also said residents in rural and urban areas will draw from the same funding pool and receive the same benefits.
That part stands out. China still faces wide gaps in care access and service quality between rural and urban areas. Authorities have said they want to narrow that divide markedly by 2035.
This programme does not solve all of it. It pushes the system in that direction.
