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. 2020 Jan;35(1):e210-e217.
doi: 10.1002/hpm.2936. Epub 2019 Nov 11.

Japan's health care system faces a perfect storm

[Article in German]
Kaori Kido  1 , Katsura Tsukamoto  1
Affiliations

Japan's health care system faces a perfect storm

[Article in German]
Kaori Kido et al. Int J Health Plann Manage. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Although Japan has implemented a universal health care system that is universal in terms of free access to health care services, it is managed by fragmented and financially insecure insurance societies that have cumulative deficits even with government subsidies. In terms of insurance premiums, the system is regressive to low-income and unstable workers, and the social benefit scheme only captures 1.6% of this population. The Japanese government is continuously instituting new health care policies to reduce growing health care expenditures. Recent health care reforms may improve economic efficiency, but the changes remain limited to controlling access to health services and pricing measures.

Keywords: Japan; free access; insurance premium; reimbursement scheme; universal health care.

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References

REFERENCES

    1. National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. 50 year-Trajectory of Universal Healthcare. In Japanese. http://www.ipss.go.jp/syoushika/bunken/data/pdf/19613904.pdf (Accessed March 30, 2019)
    1. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Trend in health expenditure. In Japanese. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/medias/year/17/dl/iryouhi_data.pdf (Accessed March 30, 2019)
    1. The Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. Introduction of our nation's health insurance system. In Japanese. https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/12400000/000377686.pdf (Accessed March 30, 2019)
    1. The Ministry of Finance. The national budget in 2018. In Japanese. https://www.mof.go.jp/budget/fiscal_condition/basic_data/201804/sy3004a.... (Accessed March 30, 2019)
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