To actively address population aging, effectively integrate social services with industry, promote high-quality development in the elderly care sector, and build “age-friendly” cities, the following measures are hereby established.
I. Promote Pilot and Demonstration Experiences to Enhance the Effective Supply of Elderly Care Services
1. Develop community-embedded elderly care facilities. By 2025, each county (city, district) urban area shall establish at least one community-embedded elderly care facility capable of providing care and boarding services, home-visit services, and regional coordination and guidance. Upon passing evaluation and acceptance, operational funding of 30,000 yuan per facility per year shall be provided, with financial support guaranteed by the county (city, district) where the project is located.Community-embedded elderly care institutions that have been registered with the county-level civil affairs department may apply for a one-time start-up subsidy and bed operation subsidies. For township nursing homes that are renovated and upgraded into rural regional elderly care service centers and included in provincial funding subsidies, upon passing the acceptance inspection, a matching incentive subsidy of 100,000 yuan per project will be provided, with the funds borne by the municipal finance department. [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Municipal Finance Bureau, and People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
2. Enhance the operational quality of Rural Happiness Homes. Launch a three-year quality improvement initiative for Rural Happiness Homes.In villages where “Happiness Homes” have already been established, achieve a 100% registration rate for rural elderly care service centers as non-profit organizations; in villages without such facilities, transform and register existing rural senior citizens’ associations or elderly associations as rural elderly care service centers by the end of 2022. Drawing on models such as Ninghua County’s “Four Modernizations” mutual aid elderly care and Shaxian District’s “Happiness Home + Happy Ageing Academy,” develop diverse forms of mutual aid elderly care services. Implement the “Party Building + Elderly Care Service Center” working mechanism.The completion rate of the Rural Happiness Homes project will be included in the performance evaluation for rural revitalization. For Rural Happiness Homes rated four stars or higher, in addition to the annual operating subsidy of 5,000 yuan, a star-rating bonus will be provided. The bonus standards will be determined by local authorities, which are responsible for securing the necessary funding. [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
3. Vigorously develop meal assistance services for the elderly. Scientifically plan and construct “senior canteens” and community meal assistance stations. By 2025, ensure that every county (city, district) has at least one standardized “senior canteen” in its urban area. In urban areas, drawing on the experience of Shaxian’s charity canteens, encourage social participation to establish a model integrating “senior canteens, meal assistance stations, and meal preparation, delivery, and dining services.”In rural areas, vigorously develop mutual-aid dining services using Rural Happiness Homes as a platform. Home-based elderly care service centers or Rural Happiness Homes that possess meal assistance functions for the elderly shall be given priority for selection as provincial-level demonstration sites for the upgrading and renovation of home-based and community-based elderly care services. [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Market Regulation Bureau, and People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
4. Promote the coordinated development of home-based, community-based, and institutional elderly care. By the end of 2022, transform the social welfare centers in each county (city) into county-level centralized care facilities for individuals in extreme poverty equipped with professional care functions.Encourage elderly care institutions to provide extended services for home-based and community-based elderly care, and grant them operational subsidies comparable to those provided to home-based and community-based elderly care service centers. Support eligible counties (cities, districts) in piloting “home-based elderly care beds.” Promote public training for family caregivers of elderly individuals with disabilities, dementia, or advanced age, as well as home adaptation renovations for elderly individuals in need, and include these initiatives in the government’s service procurement catalog. [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
5. Implement incentive policies for elderly care service personnel. Graduates of secondary vocational schools, colleges, and universities (including technical schools) who have been unemployed for up to two years after graduation, as well as unemployed youth aged 16–24, who participate in elderly care employment internships at internship bases recognized by the human resources and social security department, shall receive a subsidy based on the local minimum wage standard. The internship period generally lasts 3–12 months, and the required funds shall be allocated from the employment subsidy fund.Implement onboarding incentives for elderly care service personnel. Graduates with bachelor’s, associate’s, or vocational diplomas in elderly care-related majors who have continuously worked in elderly care services at the same elderly care institution in our city for at least one year and have a contract term of three years or more shall be granted one-time onboarding incentives of 30,000 yuan, 20,000 yuan, and 10,000 yuan, respectively, to be disbursed over three years.Establish on-the-job incentive programs for elderly care service personnel. Those who have continuously provided elderly care services at the same elderly care institution in our city for three years shall receive a 3,000-yuan on-the-job incentive. After the initial claim, this incentive may be claimed again every three years. The funds required for the above entry-level and on-the-job incentives shall be borne by the finances of each county (city, district). [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security, People’s Governments of each county (city, district)]
6. Increase the standards for elderly care service subsidies and allowances. The government’s standard for purchasing in-person assistance services for elderly individuals with special difficulties will be increased from 50 yuan per person per month to 100 yuan. The required funds for Sanyuan District will be borne by the municipal and district-level finances according to the original cost-sharing ratio; other counties (cities, districts) will bear the costs themselves.For the city-wide selection of demonstration projects for home-based and community-based elderly care services, in addition to the provincial award and subsidy of 300,000 yuan, the municipal and county-level governments will provide matching awards and subsidies of 50,000 yuan each. The required funds will be borne by the municipal and county-level finances.For elderly care service institutions rated four-star or five-star, subsidies will be increased by 100 yuan and 200 yuan per bed, respectively, on top of the provincial bed operation subsidy standard. The required funds will be borne by the county-level finance department where the elderly care service institution is located. [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, Municipal Finance Bureau, and People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
II. Promoting the Integration of Elderly Care “Public Services and Industry” to Drive Deep Integration and Development
7. Explore and innovate models for integrated development. Leverage the leading role of state-owned enterprises in integrated development and explore the establishment of an elderly care industry group. Guide social forces to build comprehensive elderly care communities and integrated medical and elderly care centers, and develop new elderly care models such as health-oriented, eco-friendly, and travel-residence elderly care.Leverage the catalytic effect of the Ecological Wellness City nursing home project to explore the development of the “CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Community)” model, providing integrated residential facilities and services—including independent living, assisted living, and nursing care—for the elderly, and establishing a provincial model for all-age healthy living. Introduce targeted support policies at an appropriate time. [Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Health Commission, Civil Affairs Bureau, Urban Development Group; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
8. Fully leverage the benefits of healthcare reform. Strengthen coverage for outpatient treatment of specific chronic conditions among elderly insured individuals and gradually increase the reimbursement rate for retired persons with such conditions. Support elderly care institutions in providing medical services; medical facilities established by such institutions that meet the criteria shall be included in the designated provider network for basic medical insurance in accordance with regulations.Support the construction and operation of Alzheimer’s disease rehabilitation centers; include Alzheimer’s disease in the management of special diseases and implement relevant regulations on special diseases under the medical insurance fund; actively coordinate with support resources from high-level national hospitals to build a first-class Alzheimer’s disease rehabilitation center in the province. [Responsible Units: Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau, Health Commission, Civil Affairs Bureau, and People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
9. Promote the coordinated development of elderly care and wellness. By 2025, each county (city, district) shall establish at least one apartment or hotel suitable for seasonal or migratory residency, as well as at least one cultural tourism or forest wellness base primarily serving the elderly. Effectively integrate the city’s cultural, tourism, health, and elderly care resources, leveraging local resource endowments to prioritize the development of a batch of model wellness and elderly care projects, thereby establishing the city as a destination for seasonal elderly care in the southeastern region.Leverage platforms such as the Shanghai-Fujian (Sanming) tourism cooperation, the Southwest Fujian regional cooperation, and the Fujian-Guangdong-Jiangxi regional collaboration to encourage the introduction of elderly wellness and recuperation groups from outside Sanming to visit for wellness and recuperation. For groups staying in Sanming for 5 nights or more, with an annual cumulative total of 2,000 people or more, the municipal tourism special fund will provide a reward of 20 yuan per person to the travel agency. Wellness and recuperation groups will enjoy a 25% discount on admission tickets to all A-level scenic spots in the city(excluding boat tickets and scenic area transportation fees). For seniors aged 60 and above residing outside Sanming’s jurisdiction who sign a residency agreement with a Sanming-based wellness enterprise for a stay of 6 months or longer, in addition to operational subsidies for elderly care institutions, the local government will provide a monthly subsidy of 100 yuan per resident to the wellness enterprise from the local tourism special fund, based on the number of residents and the principle of territorial jurisdiction.[Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Bureau of Forestry, Bureau of Civil Affairs, Bureau of Finance; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
10. Foster the rehabilitation assistive devices and senior products industries. Leverage policies for the National Comprehensive Innovation Pilot Zone for the Rehabilitation Assistive Devices Industry to promote innovation in the “industry-academia-research-application” model and extend the industrial chain, thereby achieving economies of scale. Cultivate new business formats within the senior products sector, such as functional senior apparel, smart daily-use assistive products, and safe and convenient elderly care products.Enterprises that establish operations within the city’s jurisdiction and produce rehabilitation and assistive devices or products specifically designed for the elderly shall be eligible for incentives and subsidies in accordance with local policies applicable to other newly introduced enterprises. County (city, district) governments may formulate additional preferential policies based on local conditions. Municipal-level special incentive and support policies will be introduced at an appropriate time. [Responsible Units: Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau, Commerce Bureau, Finance Bureau, Market Regulation Bureau, Disabled Persons’ Federation; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
11. Cultivate the senior-friendly healthy dietary industry. Fully leverage the assistance resources provided through the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s targeted support program. Relying on the “Mingbawi” Industrial Research Institute and the advantages of authentic medicinal herbs, develop 2–3 high-quality demonstration bases for the cultivation of authentic medicinal herbs, with a cultivation area exceeding 5,000 mu, and develop dietary products that integrate traditional Chinese medicine with health preservation and elderly care services.Leveraging distinctive dietary resources and medicinal cuisine culture—such as Shaxian Snacks, Ninghua Coix Seed, Jianning Lotus Seeds, Taining Dendrobium, and Jiangle Health-Promoting Pounded Tea—we will develop a distinctive, elderly-friendly healthy dietary system that complements medical, elderly care, and wellness services, thereby promoting the development of the elderly-friendly healthy dietary industry. [Responsible Units: Municipal Forestry Bureau, Health Commission, and People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
12. Improve the elderly rehabilitation and nursing care service system. Drawing on the model of the Datian County Medical and Elderly Care Service Center, establish specialized rehabilitation and nursing care institutions primarily targeting the elderly who are advanced in age, disabled, or suffering from illness or disability.By 2025, strive to ensure that each county (city, district) has at least one medical institution equipped to provide elderly rehabilitation and nursing services. Develop community-based and home-based nursing services; encourage medical institutions to pilot home-based medical services for the elderly; reasonably allocate beds for rehabilitation, nursing, palliative care, and elderly care; and explore the implementation of home-based hospital bed services.Establish a long-term care service system. Include all urban employees covered by medical insurance in the city’s long-term care insurance pilot program. Designate assessment agencies and designated care providers, establish management and operational mechanisms for long-term care insurance, address the care needs of severely disabled insured individuals, and gradually expand the coverage population to drive the development of the elderly rehabilitation service industry. [Responsible Units: Municipal Health Commission, Medical Insurance Bureau, Civil Affairs Bureau; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
13. Develop Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) health and elderly care services. In elderly care institutions, provide medical, nursing, wellness, and rehabilitation services for the elderly that integrate TCM health management concepts; where conditions permit, establish TCM outpatient departments, clinics, or consultation rooms focused on the prevention and treatment of geriatric and chronic diseases. Encourage TCM medical institutions to establish elderly rehabilitation facilities and explore the development of elderly care institutions primarily based on TCM health and elderly care.Guide TCM medical and preventive healthcare institutions to extend their services to provide community-based and home-based elderly care. Include eligible TCM herbal decoctions and TCM diagnostic and therapeutic items in the scope of medical insurance coverage, and incorporate therapeutic TCM diagnostic and therapeutic techniques that are proven effective, affordable, and not prone to abuse into the management framework for outpatient non-pharmacological TCM therapies. [Responsible Units: Municipal Health Commission, Civil Affairs Bureau, Medical Insurance Bureau; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
III. Mobilize Synergies for Integrated Development and Strengthen Resource Support
14. Implement fiscal and tax support policies. Fully leverage the guiding role of special funds for SME development, special funds for city-enterprise collaborative inclusive elderly care, and government special bonds to support eligible enterprises and projects in elderly care services, rehabilitation aids, and smart elderly care. Implement national tax preferential policies supporting small and micro enterprises; provide tax incentives such as VAT and income tax reductions to eligible elderly care service enterprises in accordance with relevant national regulations.For institutions that provide elderly care services to community residents through full-time care, day care, or home-visit services at fixed facilities within the community, income generated from such services shall be exempt from value-added tax; when calculating taxable income, such income shall be included in total revenue at a reduced rate of 90%; real estate and land used for elderly care services that meet the criteria shall enjoy corresponding tax incentives in accordance with regulations. [Responsible Units: Municipal Taxation Bureau, Finance Bureau, Development and Reform Commission; People’s Governments of All Counties (Cities, Districts)]
15. Enhance the Level of Digital Application. Establish a unified city-wide elderly care service information platform and service account to integrate information service resources and regulatory oversight for home-based, community-based, and institutional elderly care across the city. Improve big data analysis capabilities to support the orderly operation of offline elderly care service entities. Utilize digital technology to provide strong support for the transformation of the elderly care industry and offer convenient digital services to the elderly.Guide private capital to participate in the construction and operation of smart health-focused home-based elderly care service centers, providing the elderly with “à la carte” nearby and convenient elderly care services. [Responsible Units: Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
16. Strengthen land use guarantees for elderly care services. Include land for elderly care in local annual land supply plans. By 2025, the city will plan for a total of no less than 2,000 mu of land for health and elderly care to meet the needs of various elderly care service projects. Land for elderly care institutions must be held as a whole and may not be transferred in divided portions.For commercial residential land projects such as age-friendly housing and communities exclusively for the elderly, land may be granted through methods such as “capping housing prices and land prices while competing on the provision of supporting facilities (such as elderly care or medical facilities).” Elderly care projects that meet the criteria in the “Catalog of Land Allocated for Public Use” may be provided through land allocation. For newly constructed non-profit elderly care projects, the departments of natural resources and civil affairs shall actively coordinate to implement land allocation policies.Land for for-profit elderly care projects may be supplied through leasing, lease-to-own arrangements, or negotiated transfers. When existing commercial service land or other land types are repurposed for the construction of elderly care facilities, adjustments to planning requirements—such as parking space ratios—are permitted in accordance with age-friendly design standards. For large-scale elderly care projects with 500 or more beds, enterprises are permitted to develop the land in reasonable phases after acquiring it.Non-profit elderly care institutions established by private capital and those established by the government may use collectively-owned construction land in accordance with the law. [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
17. Integration and Utilization of Existing Resources for Renovation. Efforts to increase the supply of elderly care facilities through the utilization of existing resources are encouraged. A catalog of existing facilities—such as idle office buildings, factories, employee dormitories, schools, and community buildings—to be repurposed for elderly care services shall be published regularly to expand the supply of elderly care facilities through multiple channels.After vacant properties are temporarily converted into elderly care facilities in accordance with relevant regulations, the land use designation may remain unchanged for five years; upon the expiration of the five-year transition period or when a transfer requires procedures to change the land user, if the new land user is a non-profit elderly care service institution, the originally allocated land may continue to be used under the allocation method;if the new land user is a for-profit entity, the transfer may be processed through a negotiated agreement based on the new land use, new rights classification, and market price, except in cases where laws, regulations, or relevant documents explicitly stipulate that land use rights must be reclaimed. [Responsible Units: Municipal Bureau of Natural Resources; People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
18. Strengthen investment and financing safeguards. Actively guide social capital into the elderly care industry; explore the establishment of municipal and county-level elderly care industry guidance funds; widely attract investments from private capital as well as financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies; and build operational platforms that integrate industry and finance. Include elderly care service projects within the scope of priority support provided by government-funded or government-participated financing guarantee institutions.Encourage banking financial institutions to increase credit support for key projects in the elderly care industry and actively seek special loan support from the China Development Bank. Consolidate funds available to local governments to explore the establishment of risk compensation funds, guarantee funds, or provide fiscal interest subsidies, with a focus on reducing financing costs for elderly care enterprises. [Responsible Units: Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau, Finance Bureau, Sanming Branch of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Sanming Central Sub-branch of the People’s Bank of China, and People’s Governments of all counties (cities, districts)]
19. Mobilize Synergies for the Development of the Elderly Care Industry. Establish a Municipal Leading Group for the High-Quality Development of the Elderly Care Industry, headed by a principal leader of the municipal government and comprising the principal officials of relevant municipal departments. Clarify the division of responsibilities among departments, improve working mechanisms, and convene regular meetings to study and resolve the “difficult, complex, critical, and novel” issues encountered in the development of the elderly care industry. Supervise the implementation of various preferential support policies for the development of the elderly care industry and coordinate the advancement of the sector.
These measures shall take effect from the date of issuance and remain valid until December 31, 2025. In the event of any inconsistency between existing policies and these measures, these measures shall prevail. Where a single entity is eligible for multiple subsidies or incentives, the principle of “choosing the highest amount without duplication” shall apply.
