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Essay on Japan's Health Care System
Introduction
Japan has a system of universal health coverage, although individuals may receive coverage quite differently. It can be divided into two broad categories: National Health Insurance and Employees' Health Insurance. Membership in either program is compulsory.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development, private health insurance is rarely utilized in Japan. Employee Health Insurance covers people who are working for medium to large companies; national or local government; or private schools. There is also a government-managed program within this plan for employees of small businesses.
Premiums are based on monthly salary (excluding bonuses) and the employer, half by the employee, pays half. The average contribution is around 4% of the person's salary. Those covered under Employee Health Insurance pay 20% of their medical costs when hospitalized and 30% of the costs for outpatient care. Co-payments may also be required for prescription drugs. The patients up to a certain ceiling share costs, after which they receive full coverage.
Health Care System In General
The Japanese healthcare system is highly regulated by the government and, as described by the OECD, "combines a mainly private provision of services with mandatory health insurance. Service providers are paid directly by insurers (the third payer system). Payments for outpatient care are predominantly on a fee for service basis, and inpatient care is paid through a mixture of per diem and fee for service. Fees for different medical services are set out in the Fee Schedule announced by the government and revised every two years. Between 20 and 30% of the fees are born by patients as co-payments. But with a ceiling the effective co-payment rate is about 14%." (Docteur, Howard, 2003)....
