Differences
Overview
- The beginning of the Japanese Health care system happened in 1927 when the first Employee Health Insurance plan was created
Questions?
- Japan's health care system is ranked 10th among the world
Focus on access and quality
- The first Health Insurance Act was passed in 1922
High rates of violence and obesity
- Throughout the 20th century Japan has established systems for health care, public health, and welfare for its citizens
Problems
Length of stay in hospitals
Constricted to 80 main hospitals and 2 nation centers
Large elderly population increases the amount of hospitalization
$5,711 on healthcare expenditures/capita
$2,249 on healthcare expenditures/capita
Structure
$6,402 out-of-pocket spending per person
$2,358 out-of-pocket spending per person
- Japan has a universal health care system
- 70% of health care costs are covered by the government
Average length of stay 15.8-29.1 days
Regulations on length of stay depending on illness
- The 30% paid by the patients are fees set by the government
- There is a national health insurance plan for those who don't get insurance through employers
- Costs for the elderly are paid from a fund of pooled contributions from all the insurance plans
- People are allowed to select any physician and cannot be denied treatment
Japanese Health Care System
Political
- 1980s: elderly welfare services
- Medical insurance, health care for the elderly, and public health expenses constituted about 60% of social welfare and social security costs in 1975, while government pensions accounted for 20%.
- Combination of indigenous and religious traditions
By: Julianne Prentice
Kristen Powell
Selina Zaccaria
Raeann Stilwell
- Elementary Part: Provides minimal benefits
- Influenced by the West in moral actions which is reflected in their universal health care system
- Secondary Part: Providing benefits based on income until retirement
- Third Part: Company Pensions
- The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare retains considerable control in the form of the fee schedule under the universal health insurance system.
- To increase the autonomy of the local authorities, the central government has promoted the merger of municipal governments
- Japan has an immigration policy that does not accept immigrants for unskilled manual labor.
Culture
- Healthier diet and lifestyle
- Diet includes large amounts of rice, vegetables, and fish
Economics
- Japan is one of the most industrailized countries in the world
- Lowest obesity rate in the developed world -- 3% -- versus 32% for Americans
- Uses highly modern Westernized medicine along with traditional Asian medicine (kampo)
- Even though Japan has double the percent of elderly, the amount of healthcare expenditure is half that of U.S.
- A downfall is that the average length of stay is 29.1 (longest amount of time and 15.8 (shortest amount of time), which costs more money
- Part of Kampo medicine, Japanese herbal medicine, and acupuncture are covered by public health insurance
- Japan spends $2,249 on healthcare expenditures/capita while the US spends $5,711
- Japan has one of the healthiest populations keeping health care costs low
Social
- The Japanese are taught to be group oriented and put their idividual personalities aside
- 90% of Japanese consider themselves middle class
- The population is largely identical with no deep ethnic, religious, or class divisions
- Japan has the lowest infant mortality rate of 2.6 per 1000 live births
- Men- 79 years
- Women- 86 years