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Taiwan became an “aging society” as its senior citizens accounted for 7 percent of the country’s population since year of 1993. According to the National Development Council, senior population will reach 344.9 million in year 2018, accounting for 14% of the total population, thus making it an “aged society”. Facing the structural changes in the country’s population and the increasing demand for long-term care services for the elderly and those with disabilities, SFAA has established a healthcare system that aims to foster dignity and well-being of the senior. The objective is to enhance welfare services for the senior, enable them to remain their living in the community and provide residential care that suits their variable needs.

Population Policy White Paper Implementation and Strategy
To proactively address the issues of population aging, the ROC Population Policy Guidelines was revised and approved by the Executive Yuan on December 27, 2014. The Population Policy White Paper is also under constant review and revision. The issue of population aging is mitigated through five policy measures, including reinforcement of family and community care and health care system. The implementation is meant to support the energetic, dignified and independent living for the senior.

Friendly Care Services for the Senior Phase II
As an extension to the Phase I Plan, Phase II emphasizes on 5 key themes including “Healthy Aging”, “In-Place Aging”, “Intelligent Aging”, “Active Aging”, and “Fun-Learning Aging”. The emphasis is on the improvement of senior preventive care, health services and promotion, and barrier free environment for the senior. Social engagement and private-sector resource investment are key factors to the success of the plan. SFAA encourages social enterprise model to provide whole-person service to reach holistic demand of the elderly.

Sustain Senior Economic Security
SFAA provides subsidy to mid-to-low income seniors who didn’t receive government placement. According to their family economic status, the senior will receive living allowance on monthly basis. The payment amount is adjusted in reconciliation with Consumer Price Index as varied at regular intervals. Besides, a special family carer allowance will be made to those who takes care the mid-to-low income severe incompetent senior but without any institutional placement as in-home care and care givers. To make sure the basic living condition of the senior in disadvantage can be properly maintained, additional allowance is made available as income compensation to the family with the condition of the family caregiver losing job by taking part into the care of the senior.

Establishing Community Care Stations
SFAA has been working proactively with civil groups and local governmental offices to set up Community Care Stations since May 2005. The main objective is to leverage local manpower and resources with support from local community to provide primary preventive cares for the senior. The care includes home visits, phone calls, meal services, and health improvement activities. With the care from local community, the senior can engage closely with society and live in familiar environments.

Promoting Mobile Senior Leisure Services
SFAA has subsidized local government to acquire multifunctional tour care buses since 2006. In collaborating with civil groups, the tour bus provides care services periodically and extends the services to more rural areas. Through the tour care bus, SFAA shares information on welfare services, health counseling, senior care, leisure and entertainments to help the senior in the community to learn more about the social welfare benefits and encourage them stepping outside to interact with the community.

Diversify Senior Welfare Programs and Senior Citizen School
SFAA has subsidized civil groups to establish Senior Citizen School providing intelligent, educational, aesthetic, and athletic courses to support senior living after retirement.
Annually, SFAA celebrates the Double Ninth Festival by a series of activities available for the senior to showcase their talents and energy. SFAA promotes the ideas of healthy-aging and the preventive measures through activities, such as hiking and other athletic competitions to encourage the senior to be aware of their physical fitness and mental health.

Quality of Long-term Care Services System
In responding to increasing demand of long-term care services for the senior and those with disabilities, SFAA aims to provide quality long-term care services to support aging in local community.

The main priority is the home and community based services, which cover:
- Daily routine assistance services including in-home services, day care, adult-fostering;
- Medical care services in sustaining or improving mental and physical health of the disabled, including in-home medical care, community and in-home rehabilitation;
- Assistive devices acquisition to support in-home mobility and improvement of residential accessibility;
- Daily healthy meals to the economical disadvantaged or disabled seniors;
- Respite care to support family caregivers;
- Assist hospitalization to the senior with moderate-severe disability and provide transportation to those who require long-term care.

Dementia and Alzheimer's Care
SFAA actively provides nursing services for the senior and their families dealing with dementia or Alzheimer through:
- Building a caregiver support system;
- Subsidizing family caregiver centers and counseling hotline (0800-580097);
- Care line for dementia and Alzheimer’s (0800-474-580)
- Developing reporting system for the family caregivers with high demands;
- Providing in-home care, day care, senior group home and unit care to alleviate the family care responsibility.

Care Services for Live-Alone Seniors
SFAA works with private organizations to provide assistance to live-alone seniors on regular basis. During nature disasters, extreme weather and holiday seasons, the care service is intensified through the community efforts. To ensure timely assistance to the live-alone senior, a safety care service network that involves medical system (life-line), fire department, police department, and local organizations is established to provide 24-hour emergency services.

Enhancing Senior Welfare Institutions and Service Quality
Since 1989, additional budget funding has been made available to encourage private organizations to set up senior long-term care centers, or to assist the transition of existing nursing institutions to expand their services to senior long-term care. In addition, a subsidy is provided on supporting institutions on facility upgrade, services fees and training programs in order to improve professional skills, sustainable operation and services quality. According to the Senior Citizens' Welfare Act, SFAA and local governments are responsible for conducting the evaluation and audit to the senior welfare institutions annually. An accreditation will be conducted at least once every 3 years to ensure quality of the senior institutions and the senior rights.

Senior Health and Dental Care
The group of low-mid income senior citizens aged 70 above is eligible for full subsidy of Health Insurance premium. The measure is to relieve seniors from economic burden of the premium cost and co-payment. Furthermore, a subsidy scheme of Implementation of Denture Assistance for Mid-low Income Senior Citizens made available for execution at local governmental level from the year of 2009.