In a bid to lower insurance costs while improving the quality of life for elderly patients, some municipal authorities have introduced incentive programs that reward greater independence for residents of nursing care homes.
Keizanso, a nursing care home in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, received ¥120,000 ($1,040) from the prefectural government in April after a 77-year-old bedridden male patient regained the ability to go to the toilet independently. As a result, the graded level of nursing care required under the public nursing care insurance system for the patient was lowered from 4 to 3.
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