首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
(1) In a sunny room in a small apartment in the Tokyo satellite town of Kunitachi lies Yasuyuki Ibaraki, eyes closed and breat
(1) In a sunny room in a small apartment in the Tokyo satellite town of Kunitachi lies Yasuyuki Ibaraki, eyes closed and breat
admin
2021-11-24
75
问题
(1) In a sunny room in a small apartment in the Tokyo satellite town of Kunitachi lies Yasuyuki Ibaraki, eyes closed and breathing laboured. Yukio Miyazaki, his doctor, who visits fortnightly from a local clinic, suspects that he does not have much time left; he has brain damage from a cerebral infarction (脑梗死) , a tumour in his digestive system and is unable to swallow or talk. Reiko, his wife, feeds him through a tube to his stomach and clears phlegm (痰) from his throat. "He is from a close-knit family and is a quiet man, so I think it is better for him to be here rather than in a hospital," she says, over green tea and grapes.
(2) Life expectancy in Japan is the highest in the world, at 84. This is good news for its people, but means that an ever-higher share of the population is elderly. Fully 28% of Japanese are older than 65, compared with 15% of Americans and 21% of Germans. More old people, in turn, means higher health-care costs. Last year the government budgeted ¥ 15trn ($138bn, or 15% of its total expenditure) for health care and nursing, excluding the charges it levies for the public health-insurance scheme. With public debt at 250% of GDP, and debt service consuming a further 24% of spending, the government is looking desperately for ways to cut costs. It reckons caring for people at home is one of its best options.
(3) All Japanese pay a monthly premium to the public insurance scheme, either through their employer or the local municipality. In return they are entitled to treatment and drugs from public and private doctors and hospitals, although they must also pay a portion of the cost of treatment (a co-payment, in American parlance), subject to a cap. In 2000 Japan introduced an additional public insurance scheme for long-term care for those over 65, into which people must pay from the age of 40. It works the same way. The premiums and co-payments cover around 60% of the cost of the services provided; the government pays for the rest. And it is the old who cost the most. The government reckons that the average annual cost of health care for someone over 75 is ¥942,000, compared with just ¥221,000 for everyone else.
(4) By the standards of ageing nations, Japan has managed to curb medical costs fairly well, says Naoki Ikegami of St Luke’s International University in Tokyo. The government sets fees for services to keep costs down (although that encourages providers to perform unnecessary procedures to make more money: Japan has more CT scanners relative to its population than any other country). It has also promoted the use of generic drugs, which are cheaper.
(5) Nonetheless, the country has crept up to sixth place in the OECD’s ranking of the share of GDP spent on health care, behind France and America, but ahead of Italy and South Korea—two other ageing countries. It is not just that the number of old people is increasing; spending per person is rising, too, as people live longer with diseases like Alzheimer’s (阿尔茨海默症) and diabetes.
(6) Japan has promoted home care for many years, but it is pushing it harder now. The policy is especially beneficial given that the average hospital stay in Japan is three times longer than in the Netherlands, for instance. The health ministry reckons that 1 m people will receive care at home in 2025—one-and-a-half times the current total. The number of special nursing units exclusively for home visits has risen from 7,473 in 2014 to 10,418 in 2018.
(7) Last year a government panel suggested raising the amount doctors are paid for home visits and making consultations conducted via video-conferencing services eligible, too. It also proposed new rules to encourage care at home. Hospitals should be obliged to talk to social services when they discharge a patient, for example.
(8) Some municipalities are already offering good care in the community. Onomichi, a small provincial city that is even older than the country as a whole, is one. Its medical facilities have 15-minute "care conferences" with doctors, nurses, family members and even dentists, to discuss how they will go about looking alter people. "It used to be hard for hospitals to tell a patient to return home as there was no system for that; that has changed," says Hisashi Katayama, a doctor.
(9) Community care for specific diseases is improving, too. Take dementia (痴呆) , which currently affects 5m Japanese (4% of the population), and will afflict 6% -7% by 2030. Rather than provide only institutional care and medicine, some towns, such as Matsudo, north-east of Tokyo, have set up cafes to offer advice and companionship to patients and their carers. Day centres that give respite to families tending to elderly relatives are common. Much more could be done: only 13% of Japanese die at home, although most say they want to.
(10) But more widespread home care will not be enough to make Japan’s health care affordable. The government of Shinzo Abe wants to revamp the social-security system, which it reckons will help reduce healthcare costs. Raising the retirement age, for example, will keep people active, healthier and paying tax for longer. The government also wants to try to reduce the incidence of diseases that affect older people, but have their origins in behaviour at a younger age. "We have tended to focus on the old, but we need to look at the younger to prevent disease," says Kazumi Nishikawa of the economy ministry. He is particularly focused on giving people more information on what causes diabetes, which is on the rise in Japan, or exercises that can stem the progression of dementia.
(11) People are likely to have to pay more for health care, too. Co-payments for many of those over 75 are only 10%, compared with 30% for everyone else. The government should start by doubling that to 20%, says Shigefumi Kawamoto, managing director of Kenporen, the national federation of health-insurance societies. "Some elderly people don’t have resources, but many do," he avers (断言). The government could exclude some items from coverage, he says, such as over-the-counter drugs.
(12) Meanwhile, back in Kunitachi, Dr Miyazaki talks to Reiko about her husband’s condition. She is worried that her husband is getting worse, she says, and is anxious between visits. The doctor promises to come weekly from now on.
Why does the Japanese government suggest caring for the old at home according to Para. 2?
选项
A、To make the old pay less on health care.
B、To reduce government spending on health care.
C、To give convenience to family members looking after the old.
D、To alleviate the pressure on public and private hospitals.
答案
B
解析
推理判断题。根据题干定位至第二段。该段倒数第二句提到,政府正在拼命寻找削减成本的方法。而前几句指出更多的老人意味着更高的医疗保健费用,去年政府为医疗保健和护理编制的预算是15兆日元(1,380亿美元,是其总支出的15%),这还不包括政府对公共医疗保险计划征收的费用。由此可知,日本政府想要寻找的方法与削减医疗保健成本有关。该段最后一句提到,它认为在家照顾老人是其最佳选择之一,由上一句可知,该句中的it是指the government,即日本政府,而best options指日本政府削减医疗保健成本的方法。也就是说,日本政府认为在家照顾老人能够减少医疗保健开支,故B为答案。本段是从国家角度,而不是个人角度,对医疗保健费用进行分析,且未提及家庭护理能让老人支付更少的医疗保健费用,故排除A;上一段最后一句提到病人Yasuyuki Ibaraki的妻子Reiko认为,对她丈夫而言,待在家里比在医院更好一些,但这是Reiko的想法,而不是日本政府的建议,而且这并非第二段提及的内容,故排除C;第三段第二句提到了公立和私立医院,但这是指日本人在每个月向公共保险计划缴纳保费后,他们有权享有公立和私立医生及医院的治疗和药物,而不是指在家照顾老人就能减轻公立和私立医院的压力,故排除D。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/GaIK777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
中国民俗文化村是国内第一个荟萃各民族的民间、民俗风情和民居建筑于一园的大型文化游览区。它坐落在风光秀丽的深圳湾畔,占地18万平方米。您可以在一日之内,或乘车,或乘船,或步行在村寨里尽情游历。除了可以了解各民族的建筑风格之外,还可以欣赏和参与各民族的歌舞表演
记者招待会上,人们向他提了许多问题。
A、Around24%ofpeopleunderstandtheimportanceofsleep.B、Around15%ofpeopleareabletofallasleepeasily.C、Aroundonet
Duringtheearlyyearsofthiscentury,wheatwasseenastheverylifebloodofWesternCanadaPeopleoncitystreetswatchedt
Duringtheearlyyearsofthiscentury,wheatwasseenastheverylifebloodofWesternCanadaPeopleoncitystreetswatchedt
HowtoConquerPublicSpeakingFearI.IntroductionA.Publicspeaking—acommonsourceofstressforeveryoneB.Thetruthabou
由小学到中学,所修习的无非是一些普通的基本知识。就是大学四年,所授课业也还是相当粗浅的学识。世人常称大学为“最高学府”,这名称易滋误解,好像过此以上即无学问可言。大学的研究所才是初步研究学问的所在,在这里做学问也只能算是初涉藩篱,注重的是研究学问的方法与实
不同的人对退休持不同的态度。有些人认为退休后可享受晚年的生活。但真的退了下来,他们则有点失望。看到自己就要被抛到废物堆里,他们不甘认命,设法另找事干来发挥自己的余热,以继续得到收入。另一些人则对一生中这样一个重大变动早有准备。他们一生为工作操劳,现在筋疲力
张衡是中国古代杰出的科学家。他长期观察日月和行星的运行规律,知道月亮本身不发光,月光只是月球反射了太阳光。他还正确地解释了“冬天日短夜长,夏天日长夜短”的道理。张衡在他写的书中,提出了“空间和时间都是无限的”的理论。他画出了中国第一张完备的星图,记录了25
当我在小学毕了业的时候,亲友一致的愿意我去学手艺,好帮助母亲。我晓得我应当去找饭吃,以减轻母亲的勤劳困苦。可是,我也愿意升学。我偷偷地考入了师范学校——制服,饭食,书籍,宿处,都由学校供给。只有这样,我才敢对母亲提升学的话。入学,要交十元的保证会。这是一笔
随机试题
下列不属于补体生物学功能的是
张某、方某共同出资,分别设立甲公司和丙公司。2013年3月1日,甲公司与乙公司签订了开发某房地产项目的《合作协议一》,约定如下:“甲公司将丙公司10%的股权转让给乙公司,乙公司在协议签订之日起三日内向甲公司支付首付款4000万元,尾款1000万元在次年3月
国务院第493号令规定自事故发生之日起30内,事故造成的经济损失发生变化的,应当及时补报。
(2009年)某项目建设期3年,共贷款1000万元,第一年贷款200万元,第二年贷款500万元,第三年贷款300万元,贷款在各年内均衡发生,贷款年利率为7%,建设期内不支付利息,建设期利息为()万元。
现代城市规划是指()。
办理出境查验换证时,必须提交( )正本,方可办理。
熏制的大马哈鱼(熏制前经盐水浸泡)
试论记忆系统的三个信息加工阶段。
你已经说过了,我不再重复了。
AWhatdoesthecalorimeterlooklikeinside?BWhatprogramwasdesignedfortheexperiment?CWhatisacalorimeter?DWha
最新回复
(
0
)