This Act comes into effect on October 1, 2006; provided, however, that the provisions set forth in the following items come into effect on the dates specified in those items, respectively:

Aiming at five years after the enforcement of this Act, the government is to take into account the status of the enforcement of this Act, etc., review how the regulations based on the provisions of the respective medical insurance Acts amended by this Act and the Act on Assurance of Medical Care for Elderly People as amended by the provisions of Article 7 (hereinafter referred to as the "Elderly Medical Care Assurance Act") should be, and, if it finds it necessary, take required measures based on the results.

With regard to insurance benefits under the provisions of the Health Insurance Act before the amendment by the provisions of Article 1 or Article 3 that pertain to medical care, provision of drugs or medical treatment, or home-nursing provided before the date on which the provisions of Article 1 or Article 3 come into effect, the provisions then in force continue to govern respectively.

When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare intends to specify the provisions of Article 63, paragraph (2), items (iii) and (iv) of the Health Insurance Act as amended by the provisions of Article 1 (excluding those of the provisions of item (iii) of that paragraph that pertain to advanced medical care techniques), the standards under Article 85-2, paragraph (2) of that Act, the provisions of Article 86, paragraph (2), item (i) of that Act, and the Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare under Article 70, paragraph (1) and Article 72, paragraph (1) of that Act as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 85-2, paragraph (5) and Article 86, paragraph (4) of that Act, the Minister may consult with the Central Social Insurance Medical Council even before the date on which this Act comes into effect (hereinafter referred to as the "Effective Date").

①A hospital or clinic that, on the Effective Date, is actually approved as a specially approved medical institution providing services covered by health insurance pursuant to the provisions of Article 86, paragraph (1), item (i) of the Health Insurance Act before the amendment by the provisions of Article 1 is deemed to have received the designation referred to in Article 63, paragraph (3), item (i) of the Health Insurance Act on the Effective Date; provided, however, that this does not apply if its establisher has notified otherwise, as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, by the day before the Effective Date.

②With regard to a hospital or clinic deemed to have received designation pursuant to the provisions of the main clause of the preceding paragraph, notwithstanding Article 68, paragraph (1) of the Health Insurance Act, the period during which the designation is effective is to be the same as the period remaining on the Effective Date of the period during which the approval was to be effective for that hospital or clinic pursuant to Article 68, paragraph (1) of that Act as applied mutatis mutandis pursuant to Article 86, paragraph (12) of the Health Insurance Act before the amendment by the provisions of Article 1.

The provisions of Articles 100 and 136 of the Health Insurance Act as amended by the provisions of Article 1 apply to insured persons and specially-insured day laborers whose date of death is on or after the Effective Date and persons who were such persons, and the provisions then in force continue to govern the payment of burial charges under the Health Insurance Act before the amendment by the provisions of Article 1 to insured persons and specially-insured day laborers whose date of death is before the Effective Date and persons who were such persons.

①Of persons who acquired eligibility as an insured person of health insurance (excluding specially-insured day laborers; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) before April 1, 2007 and continue to hold eligibility as an insured person until that day (excluding insured persons with optional and continued coverage, special retired insured persons, and persons whose standard monthly remuneration is to be revised from that month), the standard monthly remuneration of those whose standard monthly remuneration for March of that year is 98,000 yen (excluding those for whom the monthly remuneration amount that was the basis of that standard monthly remuneration is 93,000 yen or more) or 980,000 yen (excluding those for whom the monthly remuneration amount that was the basis of that standard monthly remuneration is less than 1,005,000 yen) is revised by the insurer by deeming the monthly remuneration amount that was the basis of that standard monthly remuneration to be the monthly remuneration amount that is the basis of the standard monthly remuneration under Article 40, paragraph (1) of the Health Insurance Act as amended by the provisions of Article 2.

②The standard monthly remuneration revised pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph is to be the standard monthly remuneration for the period from April 1, 2007 through August 31, 2007.

With regard to payment of insurance premiums pertaining to a bonus before April 2007, the provisions then in force continue to govern.

①With regard to the amount of injury and sickness allowance up to the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 for a person who was receiving, or was to receive, injury and sickness allowance on the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 (excluding a person who was an insured person with optional and continued coverage when the grounds for payment arose; the same applies in the following paragraph), the provisions then in force continue to govern.

②With regard to payment of injury and sickness allowance to a person who was receiving, or was to receive, injury and sickness allowance on the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 (limited to a person who became an insured person with optional and continued coverage after the grounds for payment arose), notwithstanding the provisions of Article 99, paragraph (1) of the Health Insurance Act as amended by the provisions of Article 2, the provisions of that Article apply by deeming those persons to be insured persons prescribed in that paragraph.

③With regard to payment of injury and sickness allowance to a person who was receiving, or was to receive, injury and sickness allowance on the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 (limited to a person who was an insured person with optional and continued coverage when the grounds for payment arose), the provisions then in force continue to govern.

①With regard to the amount of childbirth allowance up to the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 for a person who was receiving, or was to receive, childbirth allowance on the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 (excluding a person who was an insured person with optional and continued coverage when the grounds for payment arose and a person who was receiving, or was to receive, childbirth allowance pursuant to the provisions of Article 106 of the Health Insurance Act before amendment by the provisions of Article 2; the same applies in the following paragraph), the provisions then in force continue to govern.

②With regard to payment of childbirth allowance to a person who was receiving, or was to receive, childbirth allowance on the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 (limited to a person who became an insured person with optional and continued coverage after the grounds for payment arose), notwithstanding the provisions of Article 102 of the Health Insurance Act as amended by the provisions of Article 2, the provisions of that Article apply by deeming those persons to be insured persons prescribed in that Article.

③With regard to payment of childbirth allowance to a person who was receiving, or was to receive, childbirth allowance on the day preceding the date of enforcement of the provisions of Article 2 (limited to a person who was an insured person with optional and continued coverage when the grounds for payment arose and a person who was receiving, or was to receive, childbirth allowance pursuant to the provisions of Article 106 of the Health Insurance Act before amendment by the provisions of Article 2), the provisions then in force continue to govern.

In the case of applying the provisions of Article 160 of the Health Insurance Act before amendment by the provisions of Article 4 (hereinafter referred to as the "Health Insurance Act Before the October 2008 Amendment") to the general insurance premium rate on or after April 1, 2008 for insured persons covered by health insurance administered by the government, the phrase "estimated amount" in paragraph (2) of that Article is deemed to be replaced with "estimated amount, estimated amount of expenses required for the execution of the affairs of health insurance services, estimated amount of expenses required for building up the reserves prescribed in Article 160-2 of the Health Insurance Act as amended by the provisions of Article 4 of the Act Partially Amending the Health Insurance Act, etc. (Act No. 83 of 2006)", the phrase "national subsidy" is deemed to be replaced with "share of the national treasury, national subsidy", and the phrase "throughout approximately five years" is deemed to be replaced with "during the period until March 31, 2009", and in addition, the provisions of paragraphs (5) and (6) of that Article do not apply.