BEIJING -- China has issued a new set of regulations to standardize the management of designated institutions for evaluating the level of incapability of self-care in long-term care insurance schemes.

The regulations, issued by the National Healthcare Security Administration, stipulate the basic criteria, running requirements, and supervisory requirements for such institutions.

Relevant institutions can apply to regional healthcare security authorities and become designated evaluation institutions after passing through comprehensive review and public notice.

China launched the pilot of the long-term care insurance schemes in 2016, and 49 cities and 180 million people have been covered now. The new regulations will help ensure the fairness and timeliness of the schemes.