The National Healthcare Security Administration released a national catalog of long-term care insurance services on Thursday, with the goal of standardizing payment ranges and service quality.

A total of 49 regions have participated in the national pilot program for long-term care insurance since 2016. The insurance now covers 190 million people, with cumulative expenditures exceeding 85 billion yuan ($12 billion).

The expanding implementation has given rise to problems such as disparities in payment scopes between regions, inconsistent definitions of services, and varying quality levels in service management.

The new catalog defines 36 service items in two categories: daily life care and medical care. Daily life care includes 20 items, such as eating assistance, hygiene care, and dressing or undressing support. Medical care consists of 16 items, including general examination care, basic nursing, specialized care, and rehabilitation services.

"The catalog fully considers the basic care needs of people with disabilities," the administration said. "The introduction of the catalog will help standardize long-term care services, improve service quality, protect rights of insurance beneficiaries and better ensure stable operation of the long-term care insurance fund."

All regions implementing the program must strictly adhere to the national catalog and are prohibited from making arbitrary adjustments to the scope of service, according to the administration. Regions with existing local catalogs are required to transition to the national standard over the next three years.