A new system expanding the scope of subsidized nursing care for people suffering serious long-term injuries from traffic accidents will be set up in July, Transport Ministry officials said.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that while the death toll in traffic accidents is declining, more victims suffer long-term injuries.
Under the new system, subsidies, currently limited to people in comas, will be expanded to cover victims in need of full-time or occasional nursing care, ministry officials said Sunday.
The number of accident victims eligible for subsidies will probably increase by about 5,800 this fiscal year, which started April 1, from the 833 people receiving subsidized nursing care as of June, they said.
The expanded subsidies will be funded from investment gains from the government-mandated automobile liability insurance program.
Subsidies of up to 10,000 yen per day will be available for short-term hospital admissions, mainly for checkups, for a maximum of 30 days per year, the officials said.
Those who need full-time care with injuries such as damage to the brain or spinal cord will be provided 58,570 yen monthly if they are looked after at home by family or friends, and up to 108,000 yen if they use the services of professional nurses or home helpers.
Those in need of occasional care will be given 29,290 yen to 54,000 yen per month, while those in comas will receive 68,440 yen to 136,880 yen, as under the current system.
But the new system will exclude, among others, people with an annual income exceeding 10 million yen, those hospitalized at institutions for advanced treatment and those in nursing homes for the disabled, the officials said.
It will also exclude recipients of the state-run nursing-care insurance system.