Ningbo to build care system for the aged

Over the past five years, Ningbo has worked on the major problems and weak points of the service system for the aged. So far, the basic system consisting of the home care, community care and institution care has been completed and can meet the basic demands of the senior citizens.

At the end of 2010, there were 1.024 million senior citizens above 60 years old in Ningbo, accounting for 17.83% of the total population. At the end of 2014, the population of the senior citizens reached 1.255 million, accounting for 21.5% of the total, with the aging rate in Ningbo being 6 percentage points higher than the national average rate and 2.1 percentage points higher than the provincial average. Over the past five years, the aging population in Ningbo has been increasing with an annual growth rate of no less than 4%, resulting in a grim aging situation.

To address the ever increasing aging problem, Ningbo has launched a series of policies to promote the development of the pension services, such as the "implementation plan for promoting private investment in the pension services", especially in such aspects as land use, financial support, pricing of agencies, capital, team building, medical support and investors rights. Meanwhile, to deal with the specific problems, the departments concerned launched eight detailed measures in terms of service charge, policy-guided comprehensive insurance, conflict prevention and treatment, medical care management and entry award or grant.

The departments at different levels have spared no efforts to carry out the financial support policies for the pension services for the aged. On the one hand, the pension service facility grants are launched. For the qualified non-profit private pension service agencies identified by the departments concerned, a grant of 20,000 yuan per bed will be given if there is an addition of over 10 care beds. On the other hand, the subsidy for the elderly has been established. The agencies accommodating the senior citizens with disability or semi-disability will be granted 100, 200 and 300 yuan per person respectively as operating subsidies according to their dependent level.

The guaranteeing policies for the pension services have been carried out, including the entry assessment system for the government-funded care agencies, to ensure the basic care of the nine categories of senior citizens in need, including those from the extremely poor rural and urban households, major special care subjects, and those with the lowest subsistence allowances. Subsidies will be given to the senior citizens in need if they are accepted by the pension service agencies or for home care. The current annual subsidy volume for the former is 16,200 yuan per person, and that for the latter is 6,480 yuan per person.

A batch of major pension service projects at the municipal and county or district levels have been completed and put into use, and the beds available have increased from 26,865 in 1009 to 41,996 in 2014, up by 565.3%. Currently, there are 3.4 beds per 100 senior citizens in Ningbo, higher that the provincial or national average. There are still some beds available in some newly built care agencies for the elderly in need.

LINK:	http://en.nbwh.gov.cn/art/2015/12/4/art_1325_77100.html...
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