In order to standardise payment ranges and delivery of service quality of long-term care in the country, China has released a national catalogue of long-term care insurance services.
According to a news report in www.chinadaily.com.cn by 2024 the national pilot programme on long-term care insurance services has expanded to 49 pilot cities. The pilot programme which began in 2016 now covers 190m people and cumulatively has incurred an expenditure of CNY85bn ($12bn).
The National Long-term Care Insurance Service Item Catalogue (Trial) consists of two parts: Explanations and Service Items. The Explanations explain and illustrate the catalogue structure, catalogue arrangement, and management principles of the Long-term Care Service Item Catalogue; Service Items include serial number, item code, item category, item name, item content, and service highlights.
The new catalogue defines 36 service items, which are categorised into daily care and medical care. The daily care category includes 20 items (including eight categories: dietary care, excretion care, cleaning care, dressing and undressing, functional maintenance, symptomatic care, vital sign monitoring, and safety care) for long-term care insurance recipients, providing them with daily care and services to help them maintain their basic living abilities.
The medical care category includes 16 items (including four categories: general examination care, basic care, specialized care, and rehabilitation) that are closely related to basic daily care.
The new catalogue specifies that fees for services included in the catalogue will be paid by the long-term care insurance fund in accordance with regulations. The fees for medical care items listed and provided by designated long-term care insurance service institutions by recipients of long-term care insurance benefits would be paid by the long-term care insurance fund and not by the basic medical insurance fund.
It also specifies that if an insured person requires referral or transfer to a designated medical institution for treatment, the relevant medical expenses will be paid by the medical insurance fund in accordance with regulations.
The catalogue also fully considers the basic care needs of people with disabilities. The NHSA said the introduction of the catalogue will help standardise long-term care services, improve service quality, protect rights of insurance beneficiaries and better ensure stable operation of the long-term care insurance fund.
All regions implementing the programme will have to strictly adhere to the national catalogue and are prohibited from making arbitrary adjustments to the scope of service, according to the administration. Regions with existing local catalogues are required to transition to the national standard over the next three years.