Japan has amended its public health insurance laws in a bid to reduce healthcare spending and ease the social insurance burden on the working population, although the reforms have sparked concerns among patients over higher out-of-pocket medical costs.
According to a report by Sanyo News, a key part of the reform is the introduction of an additional patient charge for prescription medicines that are similar in ingredients and effectiveness to over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. Under the new system, patients prescribed these "OTC-like" medicines will pay an extra 25% of the drug cost, with implementation scheduled for March 2027.
The policy is expected to cover around 1,100 pharmaceutical products containing 77 active ingredients, including commonly prescribed painkillers and allergy medicines. The government said the measure is intended to improve fairness between patients who obtain prescriptions through the public health insurance system and those who purchase similar medicines directly from pharmacies.
However, patient groups and healthcare advocates have warned that the higher costs could discourage people from seeking treatment or filling prescriptions.
The revised law also includes provisions requiring the government to consider the financial impact on long-term patients when reviewing the country's High-Cost Medical Expense Benefit System, which caps monthly out-of-pocket medical expenses. The government is planning to gradually raise the programme's monthly payment ceilings by as much as 38% between August this year and August next year.