Ma Chao: From hierarchical diagnosis and treatment to the silver-haired economy, the government work report releases signals on medical care and elderly care | Yicai Big V interprets the government work report

(This article is authored by Ma Chao, Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management, Southeast University) On March 5th, Premier Li Qiang delivered the government work report to the Fourth Session of the 14th National People's Congress. As the starting year of the "14th Five-Year Plan," my impression of the entire work report this year, particularly in the areas of medical health and social security, is that the policies are very "precise" and have strong traction. I. Basic Medical and Health Care (1) Hierarchical Diagnosis and Treatment Regarding the issue of hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, this year's report mainly mentions "optimizing the functional positioning and layout of medical institutions, strengthening the connection of grassroots medication, solidifying family doctor contract services, and promoting hierarchical diagnosis and treatment." "Hierarchical diagnosis and treatment" has been mentioned in the past, but this year it provides new requirements for implementation. Therefore, it can be anticipated that future focuses will be to control the expansion of tertiary hospitals and to enhance the willingness and capability of grassroots and family doctors to truly fulfill the responsibilities of "health gatekeepers," guiding medical resources towards prevention. (2) Commercial Health Insurance This year's report also sets forth development expectations for commercial health insurance, stating "accelerate the development of commercial health insurance, promote the high-quality development of innovative drugs and medical devices, and better meet the diverse medical and medication needs of the people." This is also a clear signal. For a long time, commercial health insurance has been a supplementary option in China's medical security system. With the boundaries of basic medical insurance increasingly clarifying to "cover the basics," the more diverse medical service needs of the public require a market-oriented payment channel to accommodate them. In December 2025, the National Medical Insurance Administration will lead the organization to formulate the "Commercial Health Insurance Innovative Drug Catalog," which will include 19 innovative drugs (including 9 Class 1 new drugs), such as CAR-T therapy, rare disease treatments, and Alzheimer's disease medications. This essentially delineates a clear and high-value coverage responsibility area for commercial health insurance. In the future, with policy promotion, it is expected to form a complementary pattern between commercial insurance and basic medical insurance, establishing a positive cycle among commercial health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the public, expanding the market and improving the treatment levels available to the public; at the same time, it is foreseeable that future commercial health insurance products will increasingly be tied to health management services. II. Social Security and Services (1) Consumption Subsidies for Disabled Elderly In terms of elderly protection, this year there are new measures for the protection of disabled elderly individuals. A consumption subsidy project for elderly individuals with moderate to severe disabilities will be implemented. This is a breakthrough and innovative precise policy that reflects the country's concern and response to the challenges faced by disabled elderly individuals in terms of care. It shifts from the traditional approach of "subsidizing suppliers" (building nursing homes, providing bed subsidies) to directly "subsidizing demanders," supporting the care services for disabled elderly individuals at the national level in the form of consumption subsidies, directly enhancing the payment capacity of moderately to severely disabled elderly individuals and their families, and stimulating the vitality of the elderly care service market (2) Elderly Human Resources The report clearly states the need to "actively develop elderly human resources," which is a direct reflection of the concept of active aging in the labor market. This marks the official elevation of the development of elderly human resources to a national policy direction, upgrading the strategy from "supporting the elderly" to "enabling the elderly to contribute." There is a foundation for this in our country, as the middle-aged and elderly population has a willingness to re-employ, and this policy can systematically tap into the potential of elderly human resources. In 2025, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and 19 other departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Supporting Elderly Social Participation and Promoting Realization of Elderly Contribution." The document proposes that "by 2035, the social participation service system for the elderly will be more complete, and the variety and personalization of employment positions suitable for the elderly will be richer; localities are encouraged to establish elderly talent information databases or talent markets based on actual conditions, and to cultivate and develop specialized human resource service agencies aimed at the silver economy." Encouraging skilled and experienced elderly individuals to participate in work flexibly not only represents a secondary development of their human capital but also helps maintain their social connections, cognitive levels, and economic income, effectively delaying the onset of disability and dementia, and promoting "healthy aging." At the same time, it is undeniable that, against the backdrop of increasing pressure on pension payments, developing elderly human resources can increase the effective supply of labor, partially alleviating labor shortages in specific industries and the pressure of pension payments. (3) Silver Economy Regarding the policy guidance for developing the silver economy, this year's report officially mentioned "formulating measures to promote high-quality development of the silver economy," indicating that the "silver economy" is entering the specific design and supply phase of industrial policy. The report particularly emphasizes "improving support policies for elderly products, pension finance, and retirement tourism," aligning with the trend of upgrading silver consumption in our country from "basic survival" needs to "high-quality later years," and signaling a stable, long-term market with policy support for enterprises. As the scale of the silver population continues to grow, the new generation of vibrant elderly individuals, primarily from the post-60s and post-70s, is increasingly diversifying their definitions of later life. Various universal products attempting to satisfy the entire population with a single function will no longer be popular. Instead, multi-layered, personalized lifestyle products that integrate multi-dimensional values such as leisure vacations, cultural experiences, group socializing, and health preservation will be new growth points, creating high-quality retirement lives for the elderly and unleashing consumption vitality. Overall, this year's government work report in the fields of healthcare and social security is based on the urgent needs of people's livelihoods while also focusing on long-term development, accurately connecting public expectations with industrial upgrade demands. As the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, these policies will continue to weave a dense safety net for people's livelihoods, promoting the implementation of the Healthy China initiative and the national strategy for actively addressing population aging, injecting lasting momentum for the happiness of people's lives and high-quality economic development. This article is exclusively published by Yicai, and represents the author's views only. (This article is from Yicai Global)