Patients who are treated for COVID-19 will have to pay for their outpatient medical treatment from May 8 because the government's special financing for the treatment will end when the classification of COVID-19 under the Infectious Diseases Law will be downgraded from the current level of "equivalent to Category II" to "Category V," the same level as seasonal influenza.
However, the government will continue to finance the costs of therapeutic drugs for COVID-19 until the end of September because they are expensive.
The government decided on its review of COVID-19 measures, including public financing and the medical system, through its headquarters on Friday. While the out-of-pocket payment will, in principle, be paid by outpatients at medical institutions in the same manner as payment for treatment of seasonal influenza, the government also aims to increase the number of medical institutions that will accept patients for hospitalization. The headquarters is chaired by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
