The Dynamic Analyses of the Regional Differences in Japanese Public Long-Term Care Insurance System

We analyzed the dynamic properties of regional differences in Japanese public long-term care insurance system. The standing order (high and low) of each region's user rate, defined as the ratio of service users to insured individuals, is not very mobile. By using Markov transition matrixes, we calculated the standing order mobility index, and found that the degree of mobility is greater in the first half (2000-2005) than the second half (2006-2012) for the group of regions with higher user rates. Hence, the 2005 reform, which aimed to remedy the regional differences, did not seem to alleviate the standing order inertia.