Japan's health ministry has opened a 30-day public comment period on a draft notice that writes a new hospital efficiency and work-environment programme into the rules for a regional medical and long-term care fund. Comments are accepted from October 15 to November 14, 2026, through the e-Gov portal, by email or by post.
What the draft does
The Medical Management Reform Division of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued the draft notice. It follows the Act Partially Amending the Health Insurance Act (Law No. 31 of 2026). Article 13 of that act amended the law on promoting comprehensive medical and long-term care provision in communities. The amendment adds a programme supporting medical institutions' operational efficiency and work-environment improvement to the Regional Medical and Long-Term Care Comprehensive Assurance Fund.
The amended law also lets medical institutions that pursue those goals draw up a plan, consistent with the basic policy on comprehensive medical and long-term care provision, and seek certification from the health minister.
Three amendments
The draft amends the existing basic policy, issued as Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Notice No. 354 of 2014, in two steps. Article 1 adds support for hospital efficiency and work-environment improvement to the scope of projects the fund can pay for. Article 2 sets out the basic direction on efficiency and work-environment improvement. A third amendment, in Article 3, makes consequential changes to Notice No. 355 of 2026, which implements a separate law amending the Medical Care Act.
Timetable
The ministry plans to issue the final notice in late December 2026. It would apply from January 1, 2027, except the Article 2 provision on the basic direction, which would apply from April 1, 2027. The January start therefore covers the new fund programme's place in the project scope, while the basic-direction text follows in April.
The outline gives no budget for the programme, no award amounts and no list of eligible institutions. It also does not set the criteria the minister would use to certify a plan. The notice remains a draft until the comment period closes and the ministry issues the final text; the late-December date is planned, not fixed.