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Development of Social Health Insurance Systems: Retracing Japan’s Experience

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Making Health Services More Accessible in Developing Countries

Part of the book series: IDE-JETRO Series ((IDE))

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Abstract

Since the Second World War, many developing countries have tried to introduce a healthcare system similar to those already established in developed countries. However, such a system has often tended to aim at people living in urban areas and not those in rural areas. Unlike many of these developing countries, Japan had already introduced a kind of universal health insurance system at the end of the 1930s and a more genuine universal insurance system in the early 1960s. Developing countries that are currently in the process of moving from a partial to a universal healthcare system would benefit significantly by drawing lessons from the Japanese experience.

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© 2009 Institute of Developing Economies (IDE), JETRO

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Ii, M. (2009). Development of Social Health Insurance Systems: Retracing Japan’s Experience. In: Uchimura, H. (eds) Making Health Services More Accessible in Developing Countries. IDE-JETRO Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230250772_4

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