Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract Introduction The surge of disabled older people has brought enormous burdens to society. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of long-term care insurance (LTCI) implementation on mortality and changes in physical ability among disabled older adults. Methods This was a prospective observational study based on data from the government led LTCI program in a pilot city of China from 2017 to 2021. Administrative data included the application survey of activities of daily living (ADL), the baseline characteristics and all-cause mortality. Return visit surveys of ADL were conducted between August 2021 and December 2021. A regression discontinuity model was used to analyse the impact of LTCI on mortality. Results: A total of 12,930 individuals older than 65 years were included in this study, and 10,572 individuals were identified with severe disability and participated in the LTCI program. Results LTCI implementation significantly reduced mortality by 5.10% (95% CI, −9.30% to −0.90%) and extended the survival time by 33.74 days (95% CI, 13.501 to 53.970). The ADL scores of the LTCI group dropped by 2.5 points on average, while the ADL scores of those did not participate in LTCI dropped by 25.0 points. The heterogeneity analysis revealed that the impact of LTCI on mortality reduction was more significant among females, individuals of lower age, those who were married, cared for by family members, and who lived in districts with rich care resources. Conclusions LTCI implementation had a favourable impact on the mortality and physical ability of participants. This research marks the first comprehensive exploration of the potential health benefits associated with the implementation of LTCI, providing valuable perspectives that can inform policy making and enhance the development of robust long-term care systems in developing countries.
Zeng et al. (Thu,) studied this question.