Integrating familial care and extra-familial care into a new long-term care policy for China: Examples from Germany's long-term care insurance

Abstract

Rapid demographic ageing constitutes a significant challenge for the Chinese social system. As China has only recently begun developing a long-term care (LTC) policy, care provision is currently based on family care. However, the prevalence of such care is declining due to low social recognition and conflicts between family members' care and work responsibilities. Thus, a comprehensive LTC policy should expand extra-familial care services and make family care attractive. Germany's LTC insurance is an example of a policy that integrates extra-familial and family care. This study analyses whether China's LTC policy can gain insights from Germany's LTC policy in view of the findings from Chinese LTC pilot projects. We argue that a policy that supports extra-familial and family care would facilitate the LTC provision preferred by older people, while also supporting relatives who wish to provide care according to their values of intergenerational solidarity.