"Paint Coatings"

The national health insurance program for self-employed people now managed by 3,200 municipalities nationwide should be integrated into prefectural programs, according to a recommendation to be made by a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry panel on medical system reform.
The panel, headed by Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Chikara Sakaguchi, will incorporate the recommendation into a report on medical system reform to be issued in September. (more…)

The growing burden of medical expenses for the elderly is straining the financial health of corporate health insurance societies.
In one instance, the president of a medical equipment leasing company in Tokyo has begun asking his managers, whose dependents include parents aged 70 and up, to cooperate in reducing medical expenses. In addition to being president of the company, he is also chairman of a health insurance society, which has 1,400 members, including his employees. (more…)