Health minister Kenichiro Ueno at an Upper House plenary session following the passage of a bill to reform the nation's health care insurance system | JIJI Japan on Friday passed legislation to raise co-payments for prescription medicines with ingredients and effects similar to over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, in a bid to curb insurance premium hikes for the working population. The bill to reform the nation’s healthcare insurance system, which passed by a majority vote in the Upper House’s plenary session, would also make costs associated with childbirth entirely covered by public health insurance. Currently, standard deliveries are not covered by public health insurance, and women who give birth are granted a one-time allowance of ¥500,000 ($3,130) per child. But the actual cost of child delivery varies among hospitals, making the lump-sum payment often insufficient. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.…