Long-term Care Insurance（介護保険）

If you require long-term care in your daily life, you can undergo a care-needs assessment and make use of Long-Term Care Insurance services.
With the exception of the portion you will be liable to pay under the co-payment system, the costs required for these services are covered by insurance and taxes.
Registered residents of Yokohama City to whom any of the following apply are eligible for coverage under this insurance scheme.
1. Those aged 65 years and above (persons insured in the first category of insurance scheme)
2. Those from the age of 40 to 64 years who are enrolled in a medical insurance scheme (National Health Insurance, employee insurance, etc.) (persons insured in the second category of insurance scheme)

If you wish to make use of Long-Term Care Insurance services, you need to undergo a care- and assistance-needs assessment. The procedures are as follows.

Apply for a care-needs assessment at the Elderly and Disabled Support Division of your ward office. You can also have a local comprehensive long-term care support center, in-home long-term care support provider, etc. apply on your behalf.

'- Care- and Assistance-needs Assessment Application Form (available at the counter)
'- Long-Term Care Insurance Card (issued upon reaching the age of 65 years)
'- Something identifying the name of the medical institution which you attend regularly, name of your doctor, etc.

*If you are insured in the second category of an insurance scheme (those from the age of 40 to 64 years who are enrolled in a medical insurance scheme), please bring your medical insurance card (photocopy is acceptable).

An assessor will visit your home etc. to carry out a interview-based assessment with the individual concerned and family members.

A request for a written opinion will be sent to the family doctor that you mentioned on your application form. *Please mention at the counter if you do not have a family doctor.

A committee for certification of need will carry out a review of your case based on the findings of the assessment and written opinion of family doctor, and will make a decision as to the degree of care that is required.
*A simple review and decision is conducted for those cases which meet certain criteria.

Classification of care-needs assessment (requiring assistance levels 1/2 or requiring care levels 1-5) or "not applicable
Period of validity of assessment, etc. (3 - 12 months for new applications and applications for a change of classification, 3 - 48 months for renewal applications)

The following types of Long-Term Care Insurance services are available.

Your insurance premium will be calculated based on the expected costs of the Long-term Care Insurance services you will need over a period of 3 years (FY 2021 - 2023),

Your insurance premium will be deducted from your pension. Alternatively, you can pay via bank transfer, etc.

If you are having trouble paying your insurance premium because of a disaster, loss of work, bankruptcy, or other circumstances, you may be able to receive a reduction or exemption. Please consult with your ward's Health Insurance and Pension Division.

When you use Long-term Care Insurance services, you may have to pay the full amount or your co-payment ratio may be raised to 30% or 40%. In addition, legal action may be taken to seize your assets to recover the amount owed.

In principle, you will be liable to pay 10% of the costs incurred of using Long-term Care Insurance services (20% or 30% if your income is over a certain level). You may also have to pay meal or room charges depending on the type of service you are using

Those who meet certain criteria in terms of income and assets are eligible for reduced meal and room charges when they are admitted to a facility under Long-Term Care Insurance or use such a facility for a short stay.

If you meet certain criteria in terms of income requirements, etc., you can receive a reduction on the amount you pay when using home-based services, group homes or special nursing homes for the elderly with unit-type individual rooms, etc.

If you meet certain criteria in terms of income requirements, etc., you can receive a reduction on the amount you pay when using special nursing homes for the elderly, home visit long-term care, outpatient long-term care, short-term admission for daily life long-term care, etc. provided by social welfare corporations.

You can download a pamphlet on the Long-Term Care Insurance System (multilingual version) here.