To help stop the closure of hospital departments as well as entire hospitals, the waste-cutting panel of the Government Revitalization Unit, in examining the health ministry's budgetary requests, has called for a review of how hospitals and clinics are remunerated for the medical services they provide.
Although this review is understandable, it may be necessary for the government to consider whether it is enough merely to adjust remuneration allocations to clinics and hospitals.
The health ministry has requested a ¥9.361 trillion budget for medical remuneration in fiscal 2010. The panel paid particular attention to the fact that while the initial examination fee at either a hospital or a clinic is ¥2,700, the followup exam fee is ¥110 higher at a clinic (¥710) than at a hospital (¥600). The panel suggested equalizing the followup exam fee by raising it at hospitals and decreasing it at clinics.