Overcoming the 'paralyzed family' trap

Workforce crunch

By the end of 2025, China's population aged 60 and above reached 323.38 million — about 23 percent of the total. Roughly 35 million of them need long-term care, according to official statistics.

The new insurance is expected to channel private capital and create new business models. Wang Wenjun, deputy head of the National Healthcare Security Administration, said pilot senior care programs have already attracted more than 60 billion yuan in private investment.

But a shortage of trained carers looms. Dong, head of Puyuan Care Group, said the industry suffers from "three lows and one high" — low pay, low social recognition, low professional skill, and high physical strain. Sixty percent of her carers are over 50, with an average age of 55. To maintain quality, the company caps hiring at age 60.

"Young people are not willing to join," Dong said. "We need government-led vocational grading, better salaries, and university programs to cultivate a new generation of carers." She noted that the Suzhou government is already promoting a professional ranking system for long-term carers to raise the job's social status and attract younger workers.

For Zhao, who cares for his paralyzed father in Gansu, such long-term reforms cannot come soon enough.

He said he would happily pay 0.3 percent of his future wages for long-term care insurance — just like cooperative medical insurance."You put in a little when times are good, and when disaster strikes, the system has your back," he said.