Wuxi releases new plan to promote services for elderly

Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province released its 2021 plan to accelerate the development of care services and social assistance for the elderly, local media reported on Feb 24.

The city plans to make more beds available for the elderly, transform and upgrade regional elderly-care service centers in rural areas, and optimize the liability insurance system for self-financed medical expenses for low and middle-income residents.

By the end of 2021, more than 46 beds will be available to 1,000 elderly people in the city, and a total of 2,500 houses will be renovated to be more livable for impoverished senior citizens.

More detailed measures will also be released to improve the quality of nursing institutions. They will be categorized into five levels based on hardware, services, and more, and will receive subsidies accordingly.

In addition, more patients with rare diseases will be able to receive financial assistance from liability insurance. The city is expected to attract more donations from charitable funds, enterprises, and public welfare organizations.

In addition, the newly-released "single-person insurance" policy for seriously disabled people or people with diseases has been expanded to cover more patients in low-income families both in urban and rural areas.