Lessons from the 5-Year Experience of Japanese Long-term Care Insurance

ABSTRACT

This article aims to extract some lessons from the last five years' experience of Japan in its implementation of Long-term Care Insurance scheme(LTCI). Although both Korea and Japan are facing the most rapid ageing of the population among the OECD countries, the Japan precedes Korea in many aspects by about thirty years. Long-term care(LTC) services had been provided through two schemes in Japan before the introduction of LTCI in April 2000 Welfare Service Programs and the Health Service System for the Elderly(HSSE). LTCI incorporated both the previous social or welfare services and the long-term care services under the HSSE. Japanese LTCI started with the aims of introducing improved insurance coverage for home care, extending such coverage for the first time to nursing homes and further reducing the dependency of the elderly on beds in hospitals. In Korea, due to the lack of infrastructure to support the LTC services in Korea as well as the yet immature ageing of population, it would be quite risky to make haste in introducing LTCI in Korea. Rather the main focus of the Korean LTC policy should be put on establishing and enlarging both facilities and human resources to support the LTC services.