Work

Who benefits from long-term care insurance? Heterogeneous effects among spousal and adult-child caregivers in China

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: China's 2016 long-term care insurance (LTCI) pilots represent one of the world's largest social-care policy experiments. Using the five waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2020, we examine how access to LTCI affects the physical and mental health of informal caregivers. We distinguish between spousal caregivers and adult-child caregivers. The latter provide nearly half of all informal care yet have received little attention in the literature. Using a staggered difference-in-differences design, we find that LTCI reduces physical pain for both groups of caregivers, although its effects on their mental health are limited. Our findings highlight the uneven health benefits of social-care reform and underscore the need for policies that provide stronger mental health support for caregivers in ageing societies.

Source: SSM - Population Health

DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2026.101976

Authors: Yichen Qiu, Asako Ohinata

Institution: University of Leicester

Language: English

Topic: Healthcare Policy and Management

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,930