The National Federation of Health Insurance Societies, or Kenporen has called for an overhaul of the country's public medical insurance system, reported the Jiji Press.
Kenporen Deputy Head Takashi Yonekawa said that there needs to discussions involving all stakeholders on whether and how to reform the country’s public medical insurance system. A Kenporen survey, conducted online in January, showed that 37.1% of respondents view higher medical expenditures for elderly people as inevitable. The proportion reached 40.0% when respondents are limited to those aged 75 or older.
In principle, the out-of-pocket medical payment rate under the current public medical insurance system is set at 30% for people aged under 70, 20% for those between 70 and 74 and 10% for those aged 75 or older. Those aged 70 or older who have high incomes pay more than their baseline rates.
The survey, which received 3,000 responses, was conducted amid discussions within the government and ruling parties on possibly hiking out-of-pocket payment rates for the elderly.