On the afternoon of October 23, the Gia Lai Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies and the Thai Nguyen Provincial Delegation of National Assembly Deputies (Group 5) held group discussions on the draft amended Law on the Press, the draft Law on Population, and the draft Law on Disease Prevention.
One of the topics that National Assembly deputies focused on discussing was the policy for caring for the elderly.
The draft Population Law dedicates Chapter IV to policies for adapting to population aging and the elderly population, aiming to meet the requirements of caring for, protecting, and promoting the role of the elderly in the new context.
Specifically, Article 17 stipulates the content of support for the care of the elderly, including guiding the elderly in self-care; providing care and support services at home and in the community; and organizing elderly care models suitable to local conditions.
Article 18 focuses on developing human resources for elderly care, emphasizing the integration of geriatrics training into medical education programs; encouraging scholarships and subsidies for tuition and living expenses for students specializing in this field, especially those working in disadvantaged and particularly difficult areas.
The draft law also prioritizes the development and attraction of human resources in the field of geriatrics, considering it an important foundation for meeting the healthcare needs of the elderly during a period of rapid population aging.
According to National Assembly Deputy Doan Thi Hao ( Thai Nguyen ), the content of support for elderly care "is clear, but it has only focused on guiding the elderly to take care of themselves, providing services at home, and organizing community-based care models, without specific measures to adapt to the aging population process."
Delegates proposed adding regulations on healthy aging policies; encouraging people to prepare for old age early; encouraging organizations and individuals to invest in elderly care facilities, and developing diverse forms of home and community care "on the principle of suitability to the needs and self-reliance of each group of elderly people, socio-economic conditions and cultural traditions of the locality".
At the same time, integrate primary healthcare with social services to improve the quality of comprehensive care.
National Assembly Deputy Le Hoang Anh (Gia Lai) proposed adding to Article 17 a provision clearly defining the State's responsibility in building a network of elderly care services; and encouraging the socialization of home and community-based care services. "These issues are not clearly regulated in the Law on the Elderly," he stated.
Representative Le Hoang Anh also proposed adding Article 18 to regulate the training and certification of elderly care professionals in conjunction with the vocational education system. “Resolution 72-NQ/TW requires the development of elderly care facilities; we must have human resources for this.”
Commenting on policies for elderly care, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Van Canh (Gia Lai) stated that, according to surveys, the cost at private nursing homes is currently "around 20 million VND/person/month, or even a day-trip model costs 350,000 - 520,000 VND/person/day. This level is very high compared to the average income of society, with the average pension currently only being 6.5 million VND/person/month."
Delegates argued that if the State encourages care for the elderly, it must have support policies, primarily in the form of land support.
"I asked nursing home investors, and they said that if the government provided land support, the cost could be halved, to about 10-12 million VND/person/month; if commuting was daily, it would only cost 200-350 thousand VND/person/day, making it affordable for many people."
From a different perspective, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Lam Thanh (Thai Nguyen) argued that "it is unnecessary to include provisions on elderly care in the Population Law."
According to the delegates, the important thing now is to design policies to support investors in building elderly care centers, in order to meet the growing needs of society.
Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/can-chinh-sach-ho-tro-nha-dau-tu-xay-vien-duong-lao-10392627.html
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