On September 29, the Provincial Government Information Office held a press conference to provide a comprehensive interpretation of the Implementation Opinions on Deepening the Reform and Development of Senior Care Services in Shaanxi Province, which was introduced earlier this year.
According to the data, by the end of 2025, the province had 9.14 million residents aged 60 and above, accounting for 23.22% of the total population, and 6.4 million residents aged 65 and above, accounting for 16.26% of the total population. Both indicators exceed the national average, making it imperative to deepen the reform and development of senior care services.
The Implementation Opinions contains 19 policy measures, targeting breakthroughs from three key dimensions: reform攻坚, quality improvement, and element support, in order to resolve bottlenecks and difficulties in senior care services and drive the sector's upgrade from merely having services to having good services.
Breaking Through Institutional Barriers
In terms of tackling tough reforms, Shaanxi has introduced four key reforms focused on institutional and systemic barriers. To address the problem of scattered senior care resources and insufficient coordination capacity at the county level, the province is improving its three-tier urban-rural senior care service network. To address the insufficient two-way flow of services among home-based, community-based, and institutional senior care, the province is promoting coordinated efforts across these three types of care settings and breaking down resource barriers. To address the disconnect between medical and care services and the real plight of disabled seniors facing difficulties in accessing medical treatment and care, the province is deepening reform of the integration mechanism between medical care, health care, and senior care. The province is also implementing the one-stop approval reform for establishing senior care institutions, rolling out digital supervision through a one-person, one-bed, one-code system, strictly regulating prepaid fees at senior care institutions, and cracking down on all types of fraud targeting the elderly.
Improving Service Quality and Addressing Weak Links
In terms of improving service quality and shoring up weak links, Shaanxi is focusing its efforts on rural senior care, care for special groups, and cultural and spiritual services for the elderly. The province is establishing a pairing and mutual assistance mechanism between urban and rural senior care institutions, and relying on grassroots organizations, charitable organizations, and other forces to improve rural visitation, emergency assistance, and spiritual comfort services. The province is implementing a unified comprehensive assessment system for the capabilities of the elderly across the province, achieving mutual recognition of assessment results and information sharing province-wide. The province is also implementing consumption subsidies for senior care services for moderately and severely disabled elderly individuals, and coordinating long-term care insurance with various nursing subsidy policies. The province is enriching cultural and spiritual offerings for the elderly by promoting the expansion of senior university teaching points into communities and senior care institutions. The province is developing jobs suitable for the elderly and opening green channels for legal aid and notarization services for seniors.
Building a Full-Chain Support System
To ensure the Implementation Opinions takes effect, Shaanxi has built a full-chain support system from four aspects. First, optimizing the spatial layout of senior care facilities. The province is strictly enforcing the mandatory four-simultaneity requirement for senior care supporting facilities in newly built residential areas, and resolving difficulties such as planning adjustments and land use changes for rural senior care facilities in accordance with laws and regulations. Second, improving fiscal support policies. The province is pushing governments at or above the county level to include senior care funding in their respective fiscal budgets, making coordinated use of policy-based funds such as special bonds and ultra-long-term special government bonds, and fully implementing preferential policies such as charging residential utility rates for water, electricity, gas, and heating at senior care institutions. Third, building a strong professional talent team. The province is implementing the policy of graded certification for skilled senior care service workers, establishing a compensation distribution mechanism based on skill level plus service evaluation, and tilting benefits toward frontline workers. Fourth, accelerating the development of smart senior care. The province is vigorously developing smart senior care communities, improving the provincial database on aging and senior care services, and enabling one-stop handling of senior care-related matters. A relevant official from the Provincial Department of Civil Affairs stated that the province will expand the supply of affordable services, firmly safeguard safety and regulatory defenses, and focus on improving the quality of the silver economy, truly translating policy deployments into tangible benefits for the people.