SHANGHAI, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai on Tuesday launched a program to offer rental services of rehabilitation equipment and accessories in 70 pilot communities and is expecting citywide coverage by 2021.

The rental stations are mainly set up at elderly service centers in pilot communities, with some others at nursing homes and assistive device fitting centers for the handicapped and physically impaired.

A total of 45 types of equipment have been listed for rent, including orthotics, mobility tools, self-care appliances and protective and medical aids. The catalog will be adjusted as the program goes on, according to the municipal civil affairs bureau.

All Shanghai registered residents aged 75 and above, as well as those aged between 60 and 74 who live on minimum subsistence allowances or earning low incomes, could apply for subsidies worth 50 percent of the rental price, the bureau said.

Feasibility studies will also be carried out on the inclusion of rental subsidies into long-term care and commercial insurance.

Shanghai had over 5 million permanent senior residents aged 60 and above by the end of 2018, accounting for more than one-third of the total number of registered citizens. There are nearly 550,000 disabled residents in the city. Enditem

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