About half of the hospitals that accept My Number identification cards as health insurance certificates in Japan say they see no benefit for patients, a recent labor ministry survey showed, despite the government's push for people to register for the integrated cards.
The number of people who have already adopted the cards as their health insurance certificates has surpassed 70 million, but the actual use of them remains low among patients, standing at around 4%, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
The government plans to scrap the current health insurance certificates in the fall of 2024 by replacing them and integrating their functions with the My Number cards, which carry a 12-digit number for each individual that links together various personal data, such as taxes and social security information.