Public Long-term Care Insurance System Research Articles

The impact of reducing formal care benefits on caregivers’ well-being: evidence from Japan

AbstractThis study examines the impact of reducing formal care benefits on the well-being of informal caregivers, contributing to the ongoing discourse about establishing sustainable and adequate levels of formal care. We utilize a reform introduced in Japan’s public long-term care insurance system, which curtailed formal care benefits for a group of recipients with low care needs. Employing a difference-in-difference approach with fixed effects on a nationally representative sample of coresident informal caregivers, we explore both the overall and temporal effects of this reform. Our findings reveal that the reform had an adverse impact on caregivers’ physical well-being, leading to diminished mobility and stability. The impact on caregivers’ mental well-being was less clear, reflecting a competing influence of stress and the psychological rewards associated with caregiving. The decline in physical well-being endured over time, while the effects on mental well-being were transient. Additionally, female caregivers exhibited greater vulnerability compared to their male counterparts, experiencing more significant deterioration in both physical and mental well-being. Alarmingly, the reform also negatively influenced the well-being of care recipients, suggesting that reducing formal care benefits does not yield positive outcomes for either caregivers or recipients. This study underscores the necessity of accounting for caregivers’ well-being when evaluating the cost-effectiveness of reducing formal care benefits and advocates for policies aimed at safeguarding female caregivers from health and financial challenges.

Services in public long-term care insurance in Japan.

In Japan, a public long-term care insurance system was launched in 2000. Residents can receive long-term care according to their care needs, as determined by a nationally standardized certification system. The present report describes the details of the long-term care services covered by public insurance. The Long-Term Care Insurance Act categorizes services into three major types: in-home, nursing-home, and community-based long-term care services. In-home care services include visiting, commuting, short-stay, and other services. Welfare, health, and medical facilities provide nursing-home care services for the elderly. Community-based care services were categorized into visiting, commuting, nursing-home, and composite services.

Effect of China's Long-term Care Insurance on Health Outcomes of Older Disabled People: Role of Institutional Care.

Since the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) system was piloted in Chengdu, China in October 2017, there has been a considerable growth of LTC institutions in China. This study aimed to evaluate the health value effect of LTCI in older patients with severe disabilities in an LTC institution. This prospective study was based on data from 985 severe disability patients with or without LTCI from October 2017 to May 2021 in the Eighth People's Hospital, Chengdu, China. The Cox proportional hazard model estimated LTCI's health value, including survival probability and risk of pneumonia/pressure ulcers. Subgroup analysis was performed for sex, age, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and the number of drugs. In the analysis 519 and 466 patients in LTCI and non-LTCI groups, respectively, were included. In adjusted Cox analyses, the LTCI group had a significantly elevated survival rate compared with the non-LTCI groups at 12 months (P<0.001, HR=1.758, 95% CI 1.300-2.376). At 40 months, the adjusted survival rate was 62.6% in the LTCI group, which was significantly higher (53.7%; P=0.003, HR=1.438, 95% CI 1.131-1.831). The subgroups of patients aged 60 to 79 years (interaction P=0.007) and CCI≥3 (interaction P=0.026) were more significantly associated with survival improvement than those aged >80 years and CCI< 3. The LTCI group was also at lower risk for hospital-acquired pneumonia (P=0.016, HR 0.622, 95% CI 0.422-0.917) and pressure ulcers (P=0.008, HR 0.695, 95% CI 0.376-0.862). The improved survival of LTCI remained stable in sensitivity analyses. For older patients with severe disabilities, in a long-term care institution, LTCI significantly improved their health profile and longevity after a year, suggesting the large role and development potentiality of institution care in the LTCI system of China.

Association between community-level health literacy and frailty in community-dwelling older adults.

We aimed to investigate whether high community-level health literacy, beyond individual-level health literacy, is associated with a low prevalence of frailty among community-dwelling older adults. A large cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among citizens in Maizuru City, Kyoto, Japan, aged 65years or older who were not certified as "support" or "care" level according to Japan's public long-term care insurance system, who could perform basic activities of daily living, and who did not have dementia or Parkinson's disease. Frailty status was assessed using the Kihon Checklist, with a score ≥ 8 indicating frailty. Health literacy was assessed using the Communicative and Critical Health Literacy Scale. The mean health literacy score of 20 school districts was used as the community-level health literacy index. We investigated demographic data and other potential confounding factors, including education, living arrangement, body mass index, comorbidity, smoking status, depressive symptoms, social networks, and community-level covariates. The primary analysis included 6230 individuals (mean age = 74.3years [SD = 6.1]). In each school district, the prevalence of frailty was 21.2-34.2% (mean: 26.2%), and community-level health literacy index was 3.1-3.5 (mean: 3.4). Multilevel logistic regression model including school district as random effect showed that the community-level health literacy was significantly associated with frailty (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] = 0.28 [0.08 to 0.96]) after adjusting for the covariates. Not only high individual-level health literacy but also high community-level health literacy is associated with a low prevalence of frailty in community-dwelling older adults.

CAN THE PUBLIC LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE SERVICES IN JAPAN PREVENT THE DETERIORATION OF CARE LEVELS?

Abstract In Japan, the public long-term care insurance system supports a super-aged society. The long-term care service (LTCS) system is designed to prevent deterioration of care levels. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to clarify whether using LTCS prevents the deterioration of care levels. We use anonymized data of the Osaka National Health Insurance Database. We analyzed 16,469 subjects who were 65–74 years of age and certified at the mild care level from 2012 to 2015 at the time of initial certification. A baseline measurement was conducted 1 year after initial certification, and observation was continued until the subject’s care level deteriorated. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Cox proportional hazards model. The results revealed that the period until the deterioration of care level (which occurred in 25% of subjects) was 6 months in the service use group and 22 months in the service non-use group. Although we included sex, care level, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease as variables in the statistical analysis, service users were more likely to deteriorate than non-service users (Hazard Risks: 1.89; 95% confidence interval: 1.79–2.00). It is likely that other factors, such as heart disease, may also be involved, and there may be a bias related to family caregiver factors. In conclusion, the current findings suggest that using LTCS cannot prevent the deterioration of care levels. Future studies should verify the effectiveness of LTCS by adding further variables and data regarding family caregivers and changes in outcomes.

Insurance coverage, long-term care utilization, and health outcomes.

How does the generosity of social insurance coverage affect the demand for healthcare and health outcomes of elderly people? This paper presents an examination of the effects of insurance coverage on long-term care (LTC) utilization and its health consequences using administrative data of the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) system in Japan. In LTCI, a recipient's health score determines their insurance coverage limit, and thresholds of the score generate discontinuous changes in the level of coverage limits. I implement a regression discontinuity design and find that coverage expansion increases recipients' LTC utilization considerably irrespective of their health status. When more generous insurance coverage is available, recipients with low care needs increase day care and rehabilitation services, whereas those with high care needs increase home care services. Moreover, using more LTC has little effect on health outcomes such as the health score and the entry into nursing homes. Together, these results suggest that generous LTCI coverage can induce excessive LTC utilization without having health benefits.

Age differences in the association of physical leisure activities with incident disability among community-dwelling older adults.

BackgroundThe relationship between leisure activities (LA) in old age and prevention of disability has not been fully investigated, and age and gender differences of these relationships are unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether physical and cognitive LA predicted incident disability among community-dwelling older adults by age and gender.MethodsWe prospectively observed 8,275 residents aged 65 or above without disability at baseline for 3 years. Incident disability was defined as a new certification of the public long-term care insurance system. LA were classified into two types: physical LA and cognitive LA. The frequency of LA was categorized into frequent (i.e., once a week or more), moderate (i.e., monthly or yearly), and non-engagement. Covariates included age, gender, family number, education, perceived economic situation, body mass index, chronic medical conditions, alcohol consumption, smoking status, regular dental visits, depression, cognitive functioning, and social participation. Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to estimate adjusted cumulative incidence ratio (CIR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident disability. We performed stratified analyses by age groups (i.e., the young-old aged 65–74 and the old-old aged 75–97) and gender (i.e., men and women).ResultsThe 3-year cumulative incidence of disability was 7.5%. After adjustment for covariates and mutual adjustment for both types of LA, a significant dose-response relationship between more frequent LA and lower risk of incident disability was found in young-old physical LA (P-trend < 0.001), in old-old cognitive LA (P-trend = 0.012), in male cognitive LA (P-trend = 0.006), and in female physical LA (P-trend = 0.030). Compared with people without LA, adjusted CIR (95% CI) of frequent LA was 0.47 (0.30–0.74) in young-old physical, 0.75 (0.58–0.96) in old-old cognitive, 0.65 (0.46–0.89) in male cognitive, and 0.70 (0.52–0.95) in female physical. Regarding the effect modification according to age and gender, only interaction between age and physical LA significantly prevented incident disability (P for interaction = 0.019).ConclusionWe found age differences in the association of physical LA with incident disability among community-dwelling older adults. An effective measure to prevent long-term care in the community would be to recommend frequent physical LA for the young-old.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1265/ehpm.21-00018.

Independent living support and care prevention service in Japan’s public long-term care insurance system

Independent living support and care prevention service in Japan’s public long-term care insurance system

Financial support for unmet need for personal assistance with daily activities: Implications from China's long-term care insurance pilots

This study investigates the association between income and unmet need for personal assistance with daily activities and introduces four policy options for financial support for the unmet need, particularly the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) system. Using the logit model and random forest algorithm, we find that household income is a significant contributing factor to unmet need. Moreover, we find that older adults in the low-income group have a higher level of unmet needs. China's policy experimentation shows that financial support can be provided in the policy arrangements of LTCI financing with low individual contributions and benefits with a high reimbursement rate.

Adverse Childhood Experiences and Dementia: Interactions With Social Capital in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study Cohort

This study investigated whether individual-level social capital modifies the association between adverse childhood experiences and dementia onset. A 3-year follow-up (2013-2016) was conducted among participants who were physically and cognitively independent in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Dementia incidence for 16,821 participants was assessed through the public long-term care insurance system. Adverse childhood experiences before age 18 years and social capital were assessed using a self-report questionnaire at baseline in 2013. A total of 7 adverse childhood experiences were assessed: parental death, parental divorce, parental mental illness, family violence, physical abuse, psychological neglect, and psychological abuse. To assess social capital's mediating effect, 3 individual social capital items were measured (community trust, reciprocity, and attachment). The overall social capital score was categorized as low (<10th percentile), middle (10th-90th percentile), or high (>90th percentile). Data were analyzed in 2020. During the 3-year follow-up, 652 dementia cases occurred. Those with more adverse childhood experiences had a greater risk of dementia. Stratification by social capital score showed that the hazard ratio of ≥3 adverse childhood experiences (versus none) was 3.25 (95% CI=1.73, 6.10) among those with low social capital and 1.19 (95% CI=0.58, 2.43) among those with middle social capital. Among those with ≥3 adverse childhood experiences and high social capital, no dementia cases were observed. Among older adults in Japan, adverse childhood experiences were associated with increased dementia incidence only for those with low social capital.

Physical Frailty and Future Costs of Long-Term Care in Older Adults: Results from the NCGG-SGS

Introduction: Frailty is associated with adverse outcomes, but few studies have determined associations between the frailty phenotype and measures of healthcare burden, including long-term care insurance (LTCI) costs, in older community-dwelling populations. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the association between frailty status and subsequent LTCI costs in Japanese community-dwelling older adults. Methods: The prospective data were from a cohort study (National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology-Study of Geriatric Syndromes [NCGG-SGS]). The participants were community-dwelling older adults (mean age 71.8 years, women 50.7%) participating in an NCGG-SGS baseline examination held between August 2011 and February 2012 in Obu, Japan (N = 4,539). At baseline, we assessed the physical frailty phenotype using the Japanese version of the CHS criteria and categorized it as robust, pre-frail, or frail. We also ascertained care-needs certification and total costs using long-term care services in Japan’s public LTCI system during the 29 months. Results: During the 29-month follow-up period, 239 participants (5.3%) required the LTCI system’s care-needs certification and 163 participants (3.6%) used LTCI services. Participants classified as frail (odds ratio 5.85, 95% confidence interval 3.54–9.66) or pre-frail (2.40, 1.58–3.66) at the baseline assessment had an increased risk of requiring care-needs certification compared with robust participants. The mean total costs for LTCI services during the 29 months were ¥6,434 ($63.1) for robust, ¥19,324 ($189.5) for pre-frail, and ¥147,718 ($1,448.2) for frail participants (1 US dollar = 102 Japanese yen in July 2014). There were significantly higher costs associated with advancing frailty status. Individual frailty components (slowness, weakness, exhaustion, low activity, and weight loss) were also associated with higher total costs for using LTCI services. Discussion/Conclusion: Frail community-dwelling older adults had a higher risk of requiring the LTCI system’s care-needs certification and the subsequent total LTCI costs.

Neighborhood Sidewalk Environment and Incidence of Dementia in Older Japanese Adults.

Sidewalks are indispensable environmental resources for daily life in that they encourage physical activity. However, the proportion of sidewalk coverage is low even in developed countries. We examined the association between neighborhood sidewalk environment and dementia in Japan. We conducted a 3-year follow-up (2010–2013) among participants in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a population-based cohort study of community-dwelling older adults. We ascertained the incidence of dementia for 76,053 participants from the public long-term care insurance system. We calculated sidewalk coverage (sidewalk area as a percentage of road area) within 436 residential neighborhood units using geographic information systems. Multilevel survival models were used to estimate hazard ratios for the incidence of dementia. During follow-up, 5,310 dementia cases were found. In urban areas, compared with the lowest quartile of sidewalk coverage, the hazard ratio was 0.42 (95% confidence interval: 0.33, 0.54) for the highest quartile, adjusting for individual covariates. After successive adjustments for other neighborhood factors (land slope; numbers of hospitals, grocery stores, parks, railway stations, and bus stops; educational level; and unemployment rate), the hazard ratio remained statistically significant (hazard ratio = 0.71, 95% confidence interval: 0.54, 0.92). Living in a neighborhood with a high level of sidewalk installation was associated with low dementia incidence in urban areas.

Review of evolution of the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) system in different countries: influence and challenge

BackgroundThe growing demand for LTC (Long-term care) services for disabled elderly has become a daunting task for countries worldwide, especially China, where population aging is particularly severe. According to CSY (China Statistical Yearbook,2019), the elderly aged 65 or above has reached 167 million in 2018, and the number of disabled elderly is as high as 54%. Germany and other countries have alleviated the crisis by promoting the public LTCI (Long-Term Care Insurance) system since the 1990s, while China’s public LTCI system formal pilot only started in 2016. Therefore, the development of the public LTCI system has gradually become a hot topic for scholars in various countries, including China.MethodsThis review has been systematically sorted the existing related literature to discuss the development of public LTCI (Long-Term Care Insurance)system form four aspects, namely, the comparison of public LTCI systems in different countries, the influence of public LTCI, challenge of public LTCI, and the relationship between public LTCI and private LTCI. We searched some databases including Web of Science Core Collection, Medline, SCOPUS, EBSCO, EMBASE, ProQuest and PubMed from January 2008 to September 2020. The quality of 38 quantitative and 21 qualitative articles was evaluated using the CASP(Critical Appraisal Skills Programme) critical evaluation checklist.ResultsThe review systematically examines the development of public LTCI system from four aspects, namely, the comparison of public LTCI systems in different countries, the influence of public LTCI, the challenge of public LTCI, and the relationship between public LTCI and private LTCI. For example, LTCI has a positive effect on the health and life quality of the disabled elderly. However, the role of LTCI in alleviating the financial burden on families with the disabled elderly may be limited.ConclusionSome policy implications on the future development of China’s LTCI system can be obtained. For example, the government should fully consider the constraints such as price rise, the elderly disability rate, and the substantial economic burden. It also can strengthen the effective combination of public LTCI and private LTCI. It does not only help to expand the space for its theoretical research but also to learn the experiences in the practice of the LTCI system in various countries around the world. It will significantly help the smooth development and further promote the in-depth reform of the LTCI system in China.

Does COVID-2019 have an Impact on the Purchase Intention of Commercial Long-Term Care Insurance among the Elderly in China?

Purpose: As an important measure to alleviate long-term care (LTC) costs for the disabled due to the aging of the population, long-term care insurance (LTCI) system has been paid more attention in China. In addition to the government-led public LTCI system that has been piloted in cities such as Qingdao, Chongqing and Shanghai, health insurers such as the China Life Insurance Company are also experimenting with various types of commercial LTCI in the private market. However, the commercial LTCI market is developing very slowly due to public awareness and other reasons. On the other hand, COVID-2019 has had an impact on the cognition of the importance of long-term care for the elderly due to the fact that the death cases of COVID-2019 have been mainly concentrated in the elderly population with chronic diseases such as hypertension. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the differences in the purchase intention of commercial LTCI among the elderly in two different periods: before and after the outbreak of COVID-2019. Methods: By using the Andersen behavioral model and two investigations in two different periods before and after the outbreak of COVID-2019, this study explores the impacts of COVID-2019 on the purchase intention of commercial LTCI. Results: Some significant discoveries were found. For example, 25.8% of interviewees showed purchase intention in LTCI in the time before the COVID-2019 outbreak, while this proportion increased to 37.6% after the COVID-2019 outbreak. People who were younger (OR = 2.128, before COVID-2019; OR = 1.875, after COVID-2019) or who had more education (OR = 1.502, before COVID-2019; OR = 2.218, after COVID-2019) were more interested in commercial LTCI. Conclusion: This study shows that COVID-2019 has had an obvious impact on the purchase intention of commercial LTCI, which provides some enlightenment for China to improve the LTCI system in the future, especially to accelerate the development of commercial LTCI. For example, it is essential to promote the importance of long-term care among the elderly in a focused and targeted way. In terms of the key target audience, it can be developed gradually from the groups with higher education levels and the middle elderly aged 45–64 years old.

Association Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Dementia in Older Japanese Adults

The prevalence of dementia in Japan has been increasing. Childhood poverty has been associated with increased risk of cognitive impairment, possibly mediated by individuals' educational paths. However, the associations between dementia and adverse childhood experiences other than poverty and education have not been well documented. To examine the association between adverse childhood experiences and dementia onset among Japanese individuals born before 1948 who grew up during and after World War II. A 3-year (2013-2016) follow-up was performed of 17 412 participants in the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, a population-based cohort study of adults aged 65 years or older. Data were analyzed in December 2019. Dementia onset was assessed through the public long-term care insurance system. Adverse childhood experiences before the age of 18 years were assessed by survey at baseline. Seven adverse childhood experiences were assessed: parental death, parental divorce, parental mental illness, family violence, physical abuse, psychological neglect, and psychological abuse. Participants were classified according to whether they had 0, 1, 2, or 3 or more adverse childhood experiences. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios for the risk of dementia. Among 17 412 participants (9281 women [53.3%]; mean [SD] age, 73.5 [6.0] years), dementia occurred in 703 participants (312 men and 391 women) during a mean follow-up of 3.2 years (range, 2.4-3.3 years). Among all participants, 6804 (39.1%) were older than 75 years; 10 968 (63.0%) reported 0 adverse childhood experiences, 5129 (29.5%) reported 1 adverse childhood experience, 964 (5.5%) reported 2 adverse childhood experiences, and 351 (2.0%) reported 3 or more adverse childhood experiences. Participants who experienced 3 or more adverse childhood experiences had a greater risk of developing dementia compared with those who grew up without adverse childhood experiences, after adjustment for age, sex, childhood economic hardship, nutritional environment, and education (hazard ratio, 2.18; 95% CI, 1.42-3.35). After successive adjustment for adult sociodemographic characteristics, social relationships, health behavior, and health status, this hazard ratio was attenuated but remained statistically significant (1.78; 95% CI, 1.15-2.75; P = .009). This study found that having 3 or more adverse childhood experiences was associated with increased dementia risk among older Japanese adults.

Sustainability of Public Long-term Care Insurance System and Difference between Municipalities

Sustainability of Public Long-term Care Insurance System and Difference between Municipalities

DO THE PRESENCE OF ADULT CHILDREN AND THEIR MARITAL STATUS MATTER FOR ACCESS TO THE PUBLIC LONG-TERM CARE SYSTEM?

Knowing how the presence of family affects access to the public long-term care system is important for evaluating the adequacy of the system. This study examined the relationship between the presence of adult children and their marital status, and access to a public system by examining the gap between self-reported care needs and the official certification as needing care under the Japanese public long-term care insurance system. Data from Japan’s 2016 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions were used. A total of 23,466 older adult claimants, aged 65 years and older were analyzed. Outcomes were whether or not claimants were officially certified as needing care under the system, and the relationship of the presence of both live-in and live-out children and their marital status were examined controlling for claimants’ age, gender, education, financial status, and physical and cognitive conditions. Females comprised 64.8% of the sample, and the average age was 83 years (SD=7.8). The percentage of claimants living with a single or married child were 25.2% and 26.9%, respectively, and 60.1% were parents of children who lived independently. The percentage who were officially certified as needing care was 68.5%. Logistic regression analysis revealed that claimants with a live-in child were less likely to be officially certified as needing care, and claimants with live-in a single child were less likely to be officially certified compared with those with a married child. Live-in single children may provide long-term care by themselves, and the excess burden on them needs to be further investigated.

Community social capital and the onset of functional disability among older adults in Japan: a multilevel longitudinal study using Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) data

ObjectiveThe present study examined the association between community social capital and the onset of functional disability among older Japanese people by using validated indicators of social capital and a prospective...

Albumin and Hemoglobin Trajectories and Incident Disabling Dementia in Community-Dwelling Older Japanese

Background: Serum albumin and hemoglobin levels are independently associated with subsequent cognitive deterioration in older adults. This prospective study used repeated measures analysis to identify aging trajectories in serum albumin and hemoglobin levels and investigated if these trajectories were associated with incident disabling dementia among community-dwelling older Japanese. Methods: A total of 2,005 adults aged 65–90 years participated in annual geriatric health assessments during the period from June 2002 through July 2017; the total number of observations was 9,330. A review of a municipal database of the Japanese public long-term care insurance system identified 1,999 of 2,005 adults without dementia at baseline, 278 (13.9%) of whom developed disabling dementia during the follow-up period (June 2002 through December 2017). Results: We identified three trajectory patterns (high, moderate, and low) for serum albumin and hemoglobin levels for the age period 65 through 90 years. After controlling for potential confounders, participants with moderate and low trajectories for serum albumin level had hazard ratios of 1.27 (95% confidence interval 0.94–1.72) and 2.07 (1.37–3.11), respectively, for the development of incident disabling dementia, with the high trajectory group as reference. The respective hazard ratios for hemoglobin level were 1.31 (0.93–1.85) and 1.58 (1.04–2.40), respectively. Conclusion: Dementia risk was higher for individuals with low trajectories for serum albumin and hemoglobin levels. This finding highlights the importance of interventions that improve nutritional status and control relevant diseases in middle-aged and older adults with low serum albumin and hemoglobin levels.

The Behavioral Effect of Insurance Coverage and Its Health Consequences: Evidence from Long-Term Care

How does the generosity of social insurance coverage affect demand for healthcare and health outcomes of elderly people? This paper examines the effects of insurance coverage on long-term care (LTC) utilization and its health consequences using novel administrative data of the public long-term care insurance (LTCI) system in Japan. In LTCI, a recipient's health score determines their insurance coverage limit, and thresholds of the score generate discontinuous changes in the level of coverage limits. I implement a regression discontinuity design and find that the coverage expansion significantly increases recipients' LTC utilization even without changing the prices they face. Moreover, using more LTC has little effect on health outcomes. Together, these results suggest that generous LTCI coverage can induce excessive utilization, mainly because of behavioral biases, without having health benefits.