Can Long-Term Care Insurance Change Eldercare Patterns? Evidence from China

Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI), providing care services and economic compensation to older adults with activity limitations, plays a crucial role in addressing the care needs of older adults and easing the burden on family caregivers. This article is based on the 2011–2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and uses China's LTCI pilot program as a quasi-experiment to examine the impact of LTCI on older adults' care patterns in China. It employs a staggered difference-in-differences (staggered DID) methodology to model the economic support, living arrangements and care, and spiritual comfort provided to older adults. Results indicate that LTCI significantly enhances the economic and emotional independence of older adults. On the one hand, LTCI effectively decreases the economic and emotional dependence of older adults on their children. On the other hand, LTCI raises the likelihood that older adults rely on social institutions and personnel for care. Additionally, LTCI is associated with achieving higher life satisfaction. Interestingly, the impact of LTCI varies significantly across sub-samples of different types of older adults and different policy regulations. Overall, findings indicate that LTCI shifts older adults' care patterns from family to socialized care, thereby reducing children's caregiving burden.