In order to build a medical system in preparation for the spread of new infectious diseases other than the new corona, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has signed an agreement in advance with prefectures and medical institutions to secure beds, and if the income of medical institutions has decreased. We will aim to introduce a system to compensate for the difference.
At the New Coronavirus Countermeasures Headquarters, which opened in June, the government decided that the national and local governments would have strong authority to secure the necessary medical care provision system in preparation for the epidemic of new infectious diseases other than the new coronavirus. We are confirming the policy, such as carrying out legal maintenance.
In response, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare presented a proposal for a new system at a subcommittee of the Social Security Council held on the 19th. Based on this, prefectures are aiming to establish a system in which hospital beds can be secured during normal times by signing agreements with medical institutions in advance.
On top of that, if the medical institution that has signed the agreement has reduced its income due to restrictions on general medical care, etc., it will compensate for the difference from the same month of the year before the infectious disease epidemic.
The burden is shared by the national and prefectural governments, as well as the unions that manage medical insurance.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare intends to proceed with further consideration and submit a bill to revise the Infectious Diseases Control Law that incorporates such a system to the extraordinary Diet session in autumn.