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.
In 2010, Keizanso began removing residents' diapers in the daytime, while its staff began helping patients use the toilet. In addition, dentists have been consulted to help residents, some of whom have been fed through tubes, to eat more solid foods.