Objective: The paper attempts to evaluate the policy effect of the long-term care insurance (LTCI) system on the health level of disabled older adults and its underlying mechanisms. Methods: Using four-period panel data (2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020) from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), we selected self-rated health, number of chronic diseases, cognitive ability (MMSE), and depression level (CES-D) as health indicators and employed a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model for empirical analysis. Results: The LTCI significantly improved the overall health level of disabled older adults in pilot regions, with notable group heterogeneity. Improvements in self-rated health, chronic disease management, and cognitive ability were more pronounced among male and highly educated older adults, while female and less educated older adults benefited more from alleviation of psychological depression. Mechanism analysis indicates that the policy operates through enhancing life satisfaction and reducing medical financial burden. Conclusion: The LTCI system has a positive health-promoting effect. Future policies should develop more precise and differentiated service provision and matching mechanisms to promote national coordination of the system and improve the quality of safeguards.
Key words
long-term care insurance /
disabled older adults /
health level /
difference-in-differences model
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