An Applied Microeconomic Analysis of its Effect of Long-term Care Insurance on Social Welfare : Health Economics Approach

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The novelty of this study is, under the urgent task for the revision of healthcare system in Japan, of the analysis of economic welfare changes after the implementation of long-term care insurance system in April 2000.Our research in 2005 is to analyze the effect of long-term care insurance implemented in April 2000 on economic social welfare of people in Japan, by using the Basic Survey Data of National Life of Years 1998 and 2001, and also using the National Survey of Life Insurance of Years 1997, 2000 and 2003. Our results show that the introduction of Long-term Care Insurance substantially reduced the monthly household expenditures on long-term care and reduced the degree of absolute risk aversion of people in Japan.The research of the health care of the elderly in 2006 indicates a necessity of further promotion of homecare of the elderly from an economic point of view. In addition, our study of pharmaceutical industry shows that the deregulation in the pharmaceutical industry in Japan, after the Long-term Care Insurance System in 2000, encouraged the capital concentration in the industry in Japan, but the capital concentration does not necessarily a positive association with the profitability of firms in the industry. In fact, small and large sizes of firms in the industry are more efficient in production than the medium size of counterparts.The research in 2007 examines a possible substitutability between public Long-term Care Insurance and private life insurance with long-term care and its result shows the strong substitution is bound among people aged less than 40 years old and also a similar effect found among the elderly aged 60 and over.As the conclusion of our study during the period from 2005 and 2007, our various empirical and econometric results show that Long-term Care Insurance System implemented in April 1, 2000, promoted the economic and social welfare of people in Japan.