Schneider Institutes for Health Policy
Research Publication Summary
| Citation: | Leutz W (2004). Japanese Long-Term Care Insurance: Pilot Test of Methods to Evaluate Impacts on Client Needs and on the Coordination of LTCI and Health Care. Waltham, MA: Schneider Institute for Health Policy, Heller School, Brandeis University. |
| Abstract After more than three years of operation, how well is the Japanese long-term care insurance (LTCI) system meeting the needs of clients, and how well are LTCI services coordinated with health care services? This paper reports on a pilot replication of U.S. methods to answer these two questions. Interviews were conducted with three LTCI clients and their families as well as fifteen professionals in the LTCI and health care systems in one rural site and two urban sites. The interviews tended to show first, that the method of assessing the performance of formal care in the context of expressed client needs and family care available is reasonable, and second, that the LTCI system and health system have the infrastructure and staff to coordinate care across all settings. More work would be needed to refine evaluation methods for the larger studies that would be needed to assess performance definitively. | |
| Research Area: | International Health |
| Core Competencies: | Financing, Organizations, High Risk & Costly Populations |
