INTERVIEW: Kenporen Seeks Medical Insurance Reform Talks

Tokyo, July 6 (Jiji Press)--Japan should engage in discussions involving all stakeholders on whether and how to reform its public medical insurance system, Takashi Yonekawa, deputy head of the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies, or Kenporen, said in a recent interview.

Yonekawa's call came after a Kenporen survey, conducted online in January, showed that 37.1 pct of respondents view higher medical expenditures for elderly people as inevitable. The proportion reached 40.0 pct 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 pct for people aged under 70, 20 pct for those between 70 and 74 and 10 pct 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.

"The working generation feels the heavy burden (of payments) but is not seeking to place an excessive burden on the elderly," Yonekawa said. "On the other hand, elderly people feel that their burden is too light."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]