At the annual National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, elderly care is a highly discussed topic.  

Shijingshan District of Beijing is a pilot area for China's long-term care insurance system. On the first day after the Spring Festival holiday, Commissioner He Dan came here to visit the Medical Security Bureau, care institutions, and families of disabled elderly people, conducting research on the care of disabled elderly people. Ren Sizhu, a 71 year old elderly man, has been disabled due to cerebral infarction and has been enjoying long-term care insurance since 2021. His spouse who has been taking care of him has received free care skills training and can receive subsidies every month, as well as a certain amount of free professional home care services.

Liu Hua, a resident of Shijingshan District, Beijing: It's great. We receive a monthly subsidy of 1044 yuan, and there is also a 2-hour, 6-time home care service per month, including hair washing, foot washing, and nail trimming. It really solved our big problem.

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member He Dan: Mutual care among family members is very important. If he can receive government subsidies for taking care of his own family, it would be even better. I hope that in the design of our long-term care insurance system, we can fully consider the role of family care in caring for disabled elderly people and design this policy system well.

This year, He Dan is preparing to put forward specific suggestions on the promotion of long-term care insurance nationwide, including expanding the subsidy scope to the families of disabled elderly people, increasing training on care skills for family members, and accelerating the cross regional interoperability of long-term care insurance. As a scholar in the field of population, He Dan believes that the real challenge of aging in China has not yet arrived, and policies to address aging must be forward-looking. She continues to pay attention to the care of disabled elderly people caused by changes in the elderly population structure. In the past year, I have conducted research in Sichuan, Inner Mongolia, Guizhou and other places, and have communicated with the National Health Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs and other departments multiple times. In my research reports and proposals, I have repeatedly suggested accelerating the top-level system design and expanding the scope of long-term care insurance implementation, which has received high attention from relevant departments.

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member He Dan: The most prominent feature of China's aging population is its advanced age. We currently have nearly 40 million elderly people aged 80 and above, and by 2035, this number is expected to double, reaching around 80 million. By 2050, there will be nearly 150 million elderly people aged 80 and above.

In addition to daily care, medical services are also a rigid demand for elderly people. Last year, the government introduced a series of policies to strengthen the integration of medical care and elderly care. However, He Dan found in his research that elderly people who live at home cannot easily enjoy medical services. He Dan believes that it is important to break down departmental barriers and effectively integrate various medical resources at the community level in order to implement national policies on the integration of medical care and elderly care. At this year's two sessions, she will put forward suggestions on how to form a community level elderly care consortium and a medical consortium that are mutually integrated and interconnected, and jointly provide family oriented elderly health services.

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member He Dan: In terms of the integration of medical care and elderly care, how to integrate various resources at the grassroots level, such as the resources managed by the civil affairs department of elderly care institutions, the community health service resources managed by our health department, and the resources for elderly health services, and provide family oriented services through community integration of medical consortia and elderly care consortia.

Aging presents both challenges and opportunities. In the past year, a series of policy measures such as the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Hair Economy to Enhance the Welfare of the Elderly" have been introduced to promote the development of the silver hair economy. From the introduction of policies to their effectiveness, it is also necessary to identify the real consumption needs of the elderly. On the eve of the Two Sessions, He Dan rushed to Shanghai without stopping to conduct on-site research on tourism enterprises and community colleges, planning to put forward suggestions on further improving supporting policies that are compatible with delayed retirement.

National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference member He Dan: Focus on providing targeted services and industry led plans for elderly people of different age groups to improve their service quality; Eliminating age discrimination and strengthening the protection of the rights and interests of older workers is the only way to truly unleash the potential of the silver economy.

The happiness or unhappiness of a society depends on whether the elderly are happy or not. During the research period with Commissioner He Dan, we deeply felt the challenges and opportunities faced by China's aging population. How to actively respond to challenges, seize opportunities in the silver economy, and enhance the well-being of the elderly is precisely the driving force for committee members who are concerned about this field to continue moving forward.