Yichang is to introduce supportive policies, increase subsidies and achieve a “zero” threshold for social forces to enter itspension service industry. On September 27, the Municipal Civil Affairs Bureauannouncedat a press conference that the city will lift all its control overthe pension service marketand improve the pension servicequality.

　　Pension service is a major livelihood project in thecity. According to statistics, the city has shouldered much burden from pension serviceformore than 130,000 senior citizens and 17,000 disabled eldersby June, 2019. In May 2018, the citywas designated as a pilot city in the third batchinthe reform of home and community pensionservicesby the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

　　In order to break through the “obstruction” and eliminate the “agony” in pension service, thecity,in combination with the old-age supply-side reform,hasin recent years deepenedthe system reform, improved the supportivepolicies, directed the social participationandstimulated the market vitalitytoactively promote the systematization, standardization and industrialization of the development of the pensionservice industryunder the orientation of meeting the elders’multilevel and diversified pension service demands.

　　The detailed measures are as follows. Firstly, introduce supportive policies. The city will provide a series of support in such aspects as investment and financing, relaxation of market access, optimization of market environmentandland support.

　　Secondly, increase subsidies. Construction subsidiesof 70% (no more than 1.5 million yuanat most)and 50% (no more than 1 million yuanat most)of the investment shall be given respectivelyto the newly-builthouses’facilitiesand the renovated and expandedfacilities of leased housesin the city’s urban area. 50,000 yuan, 30,000 yuan and 20,000 yuanoperating subsidies shall be given respectively tocommunity home pensionservice centers, stations,and mutual care stations for the elders per year. Community home pensionservice centers (stations) are entitled to the same bed operation subsidiesaspensionserviceinstitutions, according to the standards of3,000 yuanper personper yearfor the disabled, 2,000 yuanper personper year for the semi-disabled and 1,000 yuanper personper year the self-care elders.Welfarecanteenswill have a 30 thousand yuanof food subsidy per year.And rewards will be given to organizations that carry out evaluations.

　　Meanwhile, completely cancel the administrative permissionforpension institutions, strengthen process management and ex postsupervision, and further liberalizethe pension service market to realize“zero” threshold for social forces to enter the pension service industry. The city government will guidepensionservice institutions to extend to the community home pensionservices to provide daytimecare, rehabilitation care, food and walk help service, to continuously broaden theirscopesof serviceandto enhance their service competence.

　　According to the plan,by 2022, the city will build, renovate and expand 100 community home pensionservice centers and 500 community home pensionservice stations, and establishrural elderly mutual care centers or rural welfare homes in 800 villages (rural communities) to gradually realize a social pensionservice system with a full coverage of home and community pensionservice networks in both urban and rural areas, of diversified pensioninstitutions, of urban and rural pensionservices, of medical and nursing services, and of internet pluspension service. (Reporter:Qi Xiaoyu; Correspondent:Cai Dongmei)