A guideline on regulating prepayment for elderly care services has been issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and six other departments, the ministry said at a press conference on Friday.
The guideline encourages providing elderly care services through monthly payment. When prepayment is involved, it says, the maximum prepayment period for elderly service fees should not exceed 12 months.
It says the maximum deposit for an individual should not exceed 12 times his or her monthly bed fee.
For the security of prepaid membership fees, the document demands establishing guarantee fund mechanisms and managing funds through commercial banks.
It prohibits elderly care institutions from conducting high-risk investments by using prepaid funds and inciting prepayment through offering return on investment.
In case of refunds, it requires elderly care institution to promptly refund members according to the agreed terms.
Earlier. China will offer improved services to elderly people receiving home-based care, as most Chinese senior citizens prefer to live at home, Minister of Civil Affairs Lu Zhiyuan said Friday on the sidelines of the ongoing two sessions.
The ministry will help adapt home environments to make life easier for the elderly, developing home-based smart nursing beds, and offering door-to-door services to help the elderly with meals, cleaning, medicine and bathing, he said.
It is particularly necessary to establish a visiting and caring system for empty-nesters and lonely or solitary elderly people, Lu said, adding that community-embedded elderly care institutions will be also vigorously developed, so that “the elderly can enjoy convenient services at their doorstep”. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
