December 10, 2024
Japan to scrap medical insurance playing cards from December subsequent yr

The Cabinet on Friday authorized a plan to discontinue the use and issuance of health insurance playing cards ranging from December subsequent yr in an effort to unify them with My Quantity identification playing cards.
“Selling the utilization of My Quantity insurance coverage playing cards is an pressing activity,” well being minister Keizo Takemi mentioned throughout a information convention following the Cabinet meeting.

“We are going to try, alongside medical establishments and the business group, to make extra residents really feel the advantages.”

The federal government goals to streamline administrative operations and enhance well being care companies by integrating the perform of medical insurance playing cards into My Number cards, which have a 12-digit quantity linking people to private data, together with on taxes and social safety.

The federal government has highlighted how the combination allows medical establishments to view prescription and well being checkup data, eliminating the necessity for cardholders to clarify them and enabling medical doctors to supply extra acceptable consultations.

In June of this yr, parliament enacted a regulation to scrap the present medical insurance playing cards however set a one-year transitional interval for folks to nonetheless use them following the discontinuation date, which is now set as Dec. 2. The general public, nonetheless, has been gradual to take up the combination of the playing cards.

Integrating health insurance with My Quantity playing cards has been an possibility for residents since October 2021, however uptake has remained round 4%, in line with the well being ministry.

In the meantime, there have been 1000’s of incidents wherein incorrect private data wa7yd.co7yd.cos linked to My Quantity playing cards, fueling public opposition to the discontinuation of the present medical insurance playing cards.

In accordance with a ballot performed by Kyodo Information in the summertime, 51% of hospitals responded to a multiple-choice query by saying that they didn’t see or didn’t know the advantage of the brand new system for sufferers.

Some 31.8% mentioned that the My Quantity card system allowed them to assist sufferers kind out points akin to redundant prescriptions or mixing of medicines.