The author writes that 240 million Yuan of government money and 2 billion Yuan of social capital will be invested in this project. But Lu Jiehua, sociology professor at Peking University, says that long-term nursing insurance needs to enter the social insurance system to be effective.
The author goes on to say that there are about 202 million people over the age of 60 in China (14.9% of the population), with the aging population problem particularly serious in Beijing. By 2021 the number of people in China aged 60 and over will rise to 258 million and in Beijing from 2.8 to 3.8 million.
Over the next two years the Beijing government plans to create old-age care centres in 332 residential districts to help provide daytime care, short-term support, food delivery, accompaniment for medical treatment, social activities, recuperation from treatment and outpatient service, as well as becoming community service centres. Currently, of the 102 old-age care centres in Beijing, most are located in the outer suburbs, while only 20 are within the second ring road.
Lu Jiehua says that Beijing is becoming more and more open to the elderly care industry, with the development of social forces the main element in its development. However, relying on existing government procurement mechanisms will not be enough. Only bringing long-term nursing care insurance into the social security system will allow to invest in elderly care work units and ensure a stable source of earnings, thereby improving the quality of those working in the industry and quality of service.
