A political advisor in Shenzhen in Guangdong province, has suggested the government establish an insurance plan to pay for aged care.

Xu Long , a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Shenzhen committee, said in a proposal that there are 862,000 people over 60 living in Shenzhen, but the 30 aged care homes in the city can only accommodate 4,894 people.

Despite the lack of beds for the elderly, many old people opt to spend long periods in hospital, receiving care at the cost of medical insurance, because the current medical insurance does not cover daily care for the aged.

This has led to immense growth in the city’s medical insurance expenditure, he said at the fourth conference of the fifth session of CPPCC Shenzhen Committee, which is being held from Sunday to Wednesday.

Xu, who is also deputy director of a hospital in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, proposed that Shenzhen should establish a long-term elderly care insurance system.

Individuals, the government and the enterprises should pay for the insurance premium together, he said.

Eventually, the insurance will help lift some of the financial burden from both the government and families, he said.