Japan OKs Bills for Full Coverage of Childbirth Costs

Tokyo, March 13 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government adopted at a cabinet meeting Friday bills aimed at introducing a system under which public health insurance will fully cover childbirth costs.

The bills on medical insurance system reform also feature a program asking patients to make additional payments for prescription medicines whose ingredients and effects are similar to those of over-the-counter medicines.

The government aims to have the Diet, the country's parliament, pass the bills during the ongoing session.

Currently, public medical insurance does not cover childbirth except for cesarean sections. Instead, the government launched a lump-sum childbirth allowance program in 1994. The existing lump-sum childbirth allowance is set at 500,000 yen, but it may not be enough.

Against this background, a nationwide uniform price for childbirth costs will be set and the full amount will be covered by insurance, as part of efforts to address the country's declining birthrate.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]