The General Office of the State Council recently released a document on improving the service quality for elderly people by opening market access for aging services.

According to the document, the aging service market will be fully liberalized by 2020, which is expected to improve aging service quality, policies, and the elderly care industry's standards.

The aging service quality will be significantly improved through effective operation of the market supervision mechanism. 

The document specifies four tasks to improve services for the elderly. The aging service market will be fully liberalized by lowering the requirements for market access. The document urges a push forward for nursing services in communities and an improvement in the aging service level in rural areas. 

It encourages relevant departments to establish a provisional system for quality aging services, innovate aging services with "internet plus" ideas, combine medical care with nursing services, and upgrade both consumer and financial products for the elderly. 

The document also requires the government to improve policies and strength financial support to protect the rights of the elderly. 

The document encourages villages around the nation to set up more collaborative nursing homes. 

Social workers and community workers should enhance services for left-behind elderly in rural areas who no longer have family to look after them. The renovation of old residential areas and aged people's houses should be pushed forward through government subsidy, industrial guidance, and crowdfunding.

According to the document, the medical institutes in nursing homes should be covered by the urban and rural basic medical insurance. 

It encourages practicing doctors to engage in multi-sited practice at medical institutes in nursing homes and community-level elderly care institutions.

The document will improve the basic medical insurance system to solve older people’s problems with medical bill reimbursement when they access medical services in a place other than their resident region.