AS part of a plan to return the healthcare system to normal by next spring, the Japanese health ministry will make a move to reduce the support for hospitalization to 10,000 yen.
To recall, the legal status of COVID-19 has been lessened to the same category as seasonal flu last May.
However, some of its support programs remained the same to avoid sudden increases in medical expenses for the public.
The latest plan will cut the support for hospitalization to half to 10,000 yen, which will be reduced from the maximum amount of personal payment; patients will have to pay up to 9,000 yen for the antiviral drugs, with the specific amount to be determined based on their incomes.
People with income levels that usually shoulder 30 percent of their medical expenses under the health care scheme in Japan will pay a fixed amount of 9,000 yen for antiviral drugs such as Lagevrio Paxloid which was originally priced at 90,000 yen.
The fixed subsidy amount given to medical institutions for reserving beds for COVID-19 patients will become flexible following the evolving infection situation.
According to the data provided by the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare.
Recently, the number of people who tested positive for the virus as reported by about 5,000 designated medical institutions across the country, was about 99,744.
The data also showed the number of hospitalized patients was 11,566, a decrease of 10 percent.
With concerns about an increase in COVID cases in connection with the reopening of schools after the summer recess, the government continues to remind the public to take basic anti-infection measures.
Furthermore, new variants of the coronavirus have also emerged.
The National Institute of Infectious Disease says an omicron variant labeled eg.5.1 has been on the rise in the nation and is predicted to be responsible for almost 60% in the coming week.
Just this September, Japan detected a new variant known as ba.2.86, which caused concern due to its potential ability to elude immune protection owing to its high mutation rate.
