Japan Press Weekly

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2013 April 3 - 9 [WELFARE]

Disabled demand reduction in support service fees

A disabled persons’ group on April 8 made representation to the welfare ministry to demand a reduction in financial burdens on disabled persons who are 65 years old and older.

The Services and Supports for Persons with Disabilities Act requires the handicapped to bear 10% of the cost for any welfare services they receive. The beneficiaries with low incomes are exempt from paying.

However, the welfare ministry policy stipulates that welfare services for the disabled who are older than 65 should be provided not under the disability act but under the national nursing care insurance system.

The nursing care insurance system requires all recipients to cover 10% of the cost regardless of whether they have disabilities or not.

As a result, a handicapped person who receives welfare services for free will have to make payments for the same services once he/she becomes 65 years old.

A representative of the National Conference to Support the Life and Rights of Disabled Persons in the meeting with government officials said, “You will not become rich just because you turn 65 years old”, stressing that it is unreasonable to impose heavier burdens on people who are over 65.

A ministry official in reply said that it is difficult to exempt the disabled from payment of care services because the government does not have enough funds due to the aging society.