China Population Ageing: Health leveraging domestic pension into a new fulcrum
06-21
Premier Li Keqiang recently chaired a State Council executive meeting, study and plan to promote the healthy development of service industry. The meeting noted that as living standards improve, the masses demand for health services continues to grow, we must accelerate the development of health care services. Experts believe that China has entered the aging population and rapid development stage, efforts to promote the development of pension services not only to actively respond to the aging population, an important measure to protect and improve people's livelihood, will also become expand domestic demand, increase employment, promote economic transformation and upgrading of important fulcrum.
Big demand for health care services
China's aging population has entered a rapid development stage. 2012 Social Services Development Statistics Bulletin released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in 2012, 14.3% of the population aged 60 years and over 194 million people, the total population. According to authoritative estimates, by 2025 this figure will exceed 300 million people.
National Development and Reform Commission recently said the person in charge of Social Affairs, on the whole, China's service sector is still in its early stages of development endowment. Pension problem of insufficient supply of services and products is very prominent. Currently, the urgent needs of older persons living care, long term care, spiritual solace, entertainment and other service areas of development are relatively slow.
Experts believe that the necessary measures to accelerate the development of both the elderly services to meet the needs of the elderly, but also to expand domestic demand and promote economic and social important starting point for sustainable development.
Not just pension services, health services throughout China including pharmaceutical development and potential of medical, health care, fitness and health, including all great. National Planning Commission, Planning and Information Division Wei Hou Yan recently said China health services has formed a relatively complete industrial system, but the industry accounts for only about 5% of GDP, while the United States in 2009 reached 17.6%.
Structural adjustment in favor of expanding domestic demand
Insiders pointed out that with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, more and more seniors are seeking higher levels of the "health-based" service pension, endowment care industry, old culture, entertainment, health tourism, elderly finance and insurance, the elderly psychological counseling and other industries will face enormous opportunities for development.
"Hundreds of millions of older people, including health services, including the size of the market is huge," Minister of China International Economic and Exchange Center of the Ministry of Information before Hong Xu said that hundreds of millions of urban and rural residents to meet different levels of pension and other health service needs to nurture a huge domestic market demand meet domestic demand-driven economic and social development strategies.
Experts pointed out that the pension services of public services has been relatively weak link. Currently China's service industry accounted for more than ten percentage points lower than the same in developing countries, a serious shortage of supply of public services status quo must be changed.
"Health services are areas of basic public services, the government needs to increase investment, strengthen management, to provide inexpensive high-quality health services." Hong Xu was said.
"Health services under the concept of the big services. Put the industry as a development priority, reflecting the idea of economic restructuring." Ministry of Finance Branch, deputy director Liu Shangxi believe that the government should play the dominant role in this regard, and the real can spur economic growth, including high-end medical, rehabilitation and other medical and health counseling services in emerging formats, these should be market-oriented.
Hong Xu was said that health services are an important part of the modern service industry, and promote the healthy development of service industry, help to optimize the industrial structure. "And various heavy industries, health services is labor-intensive industries, does not consume a lot of energy resources and promote the healthy development of the industry is conducive to optimizing China's industrial structure."
Policy guidance to support critical
Experts believe that governments at all levels to ensure universal access to basic care services, and play well, "underpinning" role. In particular, to support social forces pension institutions, pension services to actively buy social forces to push public pension and institutional reform, improving the appropriate guidance, support, and supporting policies.
"Pension services to support the development of policies urgently establish a sound system." National Development and Reform Commission of Social Affairs official pointed out that the main areas of pension services belonging to the initial investment is more, a large demand for professionals, industries longer payback period, coupled with the current stage elderly limited ability to pay actual consumption, making the participation of private capital will not high, slow pension services market development, the urgent need to actively guide and support. The current incentives are also more limited, or pertinence effect is not obvious.
"The State shall strengthen the pension and other health services industry support, in terms of providing the necessary financial and land concessions." Hong Xu was suggested that the Government should strongly encourage social capital and foreign capital into the domestic market of health services, health services by increasing the investment, providing multiple levels of service products for urban and rural residents, to meet the needs of different groups.
"In contrast, overseas health services in the service concept and technology has much to learn from the domestic industry at the State should encourage foreign and local strength of health services to domestic investment." Hong Xu was said, "for health services healthy and orderly development of the industry, the government should strengthen regulation and guidance, through the development of industry standards, strengthen supervision, to ensure that the industry can provide safe and quality service. "