“Six Key Words” Help You Understand Long-Term Care Insurance | Part 2: “No Deductible Threshold”

The General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council jointly issued the “Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment of a Long-Term Care Insurance System” earlier this week, which calls for basically establishing a long-term care insurance system that fits China’s basic national conditions within about three years. This marks the transition of the long-term care insurance system from localized pilot programs to nationwide implementation.

As the “sixth insurance” after the five social insurances, the long-term care insurance—who does it cover? What benefits and entitlements does it provide? How is long-term care services supplied? A series of videos will explain these through six key words.

■ Key Word #2: “No Deductible Threshold”

The “Opinions on Accelerating the Establishment of a Long-Term Care Insurance System” makes it clear that benefits do not require a deductible threshold.

“The fund is mainly used to pay the costs incurred for long-term care basic services that meet the regulations; in principle, it does not directly pay cash to persons with disabilities,” Zhang Xifan, deputy director of the Benefits and Guarantee Division of the National Healthcare Security Administration, said. “Long-term care insurance does not have a deductible line. For each person receiving benefits, the annual maximum payment limit from the fund does not exceed 50% of the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in the previous year in the pooling area.”

According to the Opinions, the reimbursement ratios for insured employees and for unemployed urban and rural residents are about 70% and 50%, respectively, and retired persons receive the benefits for employee insurance.

How do people pay premiums? According to the Opinions, long-term care insurance is jointly funded with basic medical insurance. The personal account for employee medical insurance can be used to pay premiums for oneself and for close relatives. Persons under 18 years of age enroll following their parents or other lawful guardians, and do not set up funding separately.

Reporter: Sun Qing, Li Haiwei, Peng Yunji a, Xu Penghang

Director: Zhang Bao kang

Produced by the Audio-Visual Department of Xinhua News Agency