The Finance Ministry proposed on November 4 a system of levies on medical institutions that perform cosmetic procedures, charged according to the number of doctors and nurses they employ. The money would go toward training and securing medical staff in regions where care is in short supply.
The proposal was put to a subcommittee of the Fiscal System Council, an advisory body to the finance minister made up of experts. The ministry aims to correct the uneven distribution of doctors, who concentrate in cities and in treatments outside the public insurance system, where high-priced procedures promise strong earnings.
Hiroya Masuda, the subcommittee's acting chair, told a news conference that too many doctors go straight into cosmetic medicine after finishing clinical training. "We should keep that number as low as possible," he said of the doctors known as chokubi, or "direct beauty." "I want them to work mainly in insurance-covered care."
The council subcommittee met as the ministry looks for ways to shore up staffing outside the cities. Under the proposal, cosmetic clinics would pay into the system in proportion to their headcount, and the funds would be directed to developing and recruiting personnel in underserved areas.