LDP, JIP Agree on Social Security Reform Outline

Tokyo, July 7 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, on Tuesday agreed to draw up a road map by the end of this year to reform out-of-pocket medical care payments by elderly people.

As part of an agreement on an outline for social security system reform, the two parties said that they aim to ensure a fair distribution of the medical care burden between the working-age population and elderly people aged 70 and over.

Currently, people aged under 70 have to pay 30 pct of medical costs out-of-pocket. The payment rate is set at 20 pct for those between 70 and 74 and 10 pct for those aged 75 and older. Those aged 70 or older who have high incomes have to pay more than the baseline rates.

The LDP and the JIP called for reviewing income thresholds used to determine payment rates and raising age brackets eligible for lower payment rates. But they stopped short of explicitly proposing that the out-of-pocket payment rate be set at a uniform 30 pct.

The JIP called for raising the payment rate for elderly people to 30 pct, but the LDP resisted the idea.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]