77岁的萍阿姨住在北京西城区的无电梯筒子楼三楼，因膝盖旧疾导致行动困难，每次下楼就医都需要依靠爬楼机上门服务[1]。爬楼机服务单次费用为40元，其中人力成本占比超过六成[1]，这笔开支对月退休金仅三千多元的她构成沉重负担。作为失独老人，萍阿姨三年前经历丧子丧偶，并患有重度抑郁症[1]。
为解决类似困境，民政部、国家医保局等14部门于2026年7月14日联合印发《康复辅助器具产业扩能提质三年行动方案（2026—2028）》，探索将辅具租赁纳入长期护理保险支付范围[1]。自2022年起，多地已开启爬楼机纳入居家养老服务的试点，至今已超四年[1]。其中，南京、苏州、威海、滨州等地已将辅具租赁纳入长护险报销，报销比例达70%-95%[1]。然而北京等地的推进仍需时日，许多像萍阿姨这样的"悬空老人"仍在等待政策覆盖的到来。
Peng, a 77-year-old resident of a walk-up residential building in Beijing's Xicheng District, struggles with mobility due to chronic knee problems and relies on stair-climbing machine services to descend from her third-floor apartment for medical appointments [1]. The on-demand service costs 40 yuan per trip, with labor accounting for over 60 percent of the service cost per visit [1]. As a widow and bereaved parent living on a monthly pension of just over 3,000 yuan and battling severe depression following the deaths of her husband and son three years ago, Peng bears these expenses entirely out of pocket [1].
The challenge facing Peng and others in similar circumstances has drawn policy attention. In July 2026, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the National Medical Insurance Administration, and twelve other departments issued a three-year action plan exploring the inclusion of rehabilitation assistive devices in long-term care insurance coverage [1]. Several cities have already begun implementing such protections: Nanjing, Suzhou, Weihai, and Binzhou have incorporated assistive device rentals into their long-term care insurance schemes, offering reimbursement rates between 70 and 95 percent [1]. Since 2022, multiple regions have piloted integrating stair-climbing machines into home-based elderly care services, a program now spanning over four years [1].
