Hello, I am trying to better understand how the Japanese healthcare system works. Let’s say someone got into a bad accident and injured their spinal cord in Japan. Surely they would be immediately taken into a hospital. But what happens when they are cleared to leave the hospital but cannot yet return to work? Do they just stay in the same hospital, or get transferred to other type of government hospital or are there any private medical/long-term rehabilitation companies? Moreover, who pays for it – would it all be covered by universal health insurance or would the person expected to pay themselves? Or perhaps many people in Japan have private health insurance that would cover it in this case?
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vy0yi3/question_japanese_healthcare_system/
3 comments
Japan has both social and private healthcare.
Social healthcare means the majority of necessary procedures and services are free or reduced. For example a basic dental exam cost me about $17 USD, while a physical was free (paid for by my job). But an STI test is free ONLY with a positive test, while a negative test will cost about $200 USD.
Private health insurance might afford you better treatment and services, depending. However, I heard it’s cheaper than most American plans because the government pretty much dictates the price. That is, if a prescription costs 5000 yen, even if social insurance makes it free, a private insurance company can’t add a markup to make a profit, like they do in the US.
If your scenario is true for you – I cannot offer specific accurate information.
The initial treatment would be covered as much as insurance will pay for, with the patient responsible for the balance. Usually it’s cheaper than the US.
The aftercare will be dictated by the doctor, with aftercare being covered as normal (treatment), but Some services might not be covered directly or at once
This is a very complex question that you need to do research on based on specific situations and, it appears, you are making assumptions on there being government hospitals under the national health care system and other places that aren’t. This isn’t accurate. You can go anywhere to get service and the prices at all hospitals are dictated by the national health care system.
For me, I had to be put on life support and ended up being in the ICU in a private room for 2 months and then a private room outside ICU for over a month after that. I had to have physical therapy to relearn how to eat, how to walk, and have had to go to the hospitals regularly ever since.
The hospital arranged for physical therapists to come to my house once I was released to assist me until I was “better”.
I had supplemental health insurance through my work, but the copayment for medical care costs for everyone is capped. If your copayment calculated based on things like salary, disability status, family size, etc exceeds the maximum for the year, the excess amount will be paid as “High-Cost Medical Care Benefits” by the government.
If you can’t pay that copay, the government has low/no-interest payment plans based on your salary.
Why are you asking essentially the same question about multiple countries in various subs?