The government said Wednesday it will launch a 24-hour "patrol" service to help the elderly become more self-reliant by facilitating in-home nursing care.

The service, to get under way with the April 1 start of the new fiscal year, will be covered by public nursing care insurance.

The government also aims to curb the ballooning costs of nursing care by allocating extra funds to welfare facilities that discharge residents to receive services at home and to caregivers who offer rehab services to prevent ailments from getting worse.

Services at nursing homes are more costly than those provided at home.

With the launch of the service, elderly people will be able to receive unlimited medical and nursing services at any time, even late at night, as well as help with cooking meals and going to the toilet, at a monthly cost of up to ¥30,000.

Such brief help for the elderly, for example lasting five to 10 minutes at a time, until now has not been covered by the insurance program.

The government also decided to raise the total fee for nursing care services by 1.2 percent to increase wages for caregivers, the first such amendment since fiscal 2009. The fees paid by the government to nursing care providers under the public insurance system are revised every three years.