Long-term care insurance, mental health of the elderly and its spillovers. 2023

Yunfei Chen, and Hong Zhao
School of Economics, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China.

The paper studies the effects of the long-term care insurance (LTCI) program in China on the mental health of older adults and the wellbeing of their families. We employ the staggered difference-in-differences approach based on the LTCI pilots from 2015 to 2017. First, we find the LTCI program improves older adults' happiness and reduces depression symptoms significantly. The effects on the improvement in memory and cognition are associated with the elderly with activities of daily living-related need for care. Second, the effects of LTCI are partially mediated through providing community services, relieving care burdens, and reducing the incidence of diseases. More importantly, LTCI coverage improves caregivers' physical health and social activities, reflecting its welfare spillover effects. Furthermore, the relationship between LTCI and mental health differs due to the difference in LTCI designs and older adults' demographic characteristics. This presents a need to consider mental health in the services and evaluation criteria of LTCI.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007353 Insurance, Long-Term Care Health insurance to provide full or partial coverage for long-term home care services or for long-term nursing care provided in a residential facility such as a nursing home. Long-Term Care Insurance,Insurance, Long Term Care,Long Term Care Insurance
D008603 Mental Health Emotional, psychological, and social well-being of an individual or group. Mental Hygiene,Health, Mental,Hygiene, Mental
D002681 China A country spanning from central Asia to the Pacific Ocean. Inner Mongolia,Manchuria,People's Republic of China,Sinkiang,Mainland China
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000203 Activities of Daily Living The performance of the basic activities of self care, such as dressing, ambulation, or eating. ADL,Chronic Limitation of Activity,Limitation of Activity, Chronic,Activities, Daily Living,Activity, Daily Living,Daily Living Activities,Daily Living Activity,Living Activities, Daily,Living Activity, Daily
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly

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