Extra pain to be imposed by proposed medical system adverse revision

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has decided to introduce a bill in the next session of parliament to raise the patient's share in medical cost from fiscal 2002. This is part of the Koizumi Cabinet's health insurance system "reform" plan.

Under the plan, if enacted, company or government employees with health insurance will be asked to pay 30 percent of the medical treatment cost, instead of the 20 percent at present.

Criticizing the government plan, Shii Kazuo, Japanese Communist Party Executive Committee chair, said on September 5 that the government proposal to increase patients' burdens will endanger the lives of people with illnesses.

The reason he gave for JCP opposition to the proposed raise was that the 1997 adverse revision of the medical system has doubled patients' shares from 10 percent to 20, which discouraged many people from going to hospitals.

Pointing out that the ministry plan is an implementation of Prime Minister Koizumi's plan of 1997 to adversely revise social programs as then health and welfare minister, Shii said that the JCP will organize a large movement to defeat the plan.

In a separate move, Deputy-Chief Cabinet Secretary Abe Shinzo in a speech on the same day floated the idea of increasing elderly peopleﾕs share in medical cost as well as patients' shares in the costs for expensive medical treatments.

Trade unions and various organizations working to protect the people's living conditions will hold a large rally on October 23 at Meiji Park in Tokyo to help strengthen the struggle for regulations on dismissals and overtime, job creation, improvements of unemployment benefit payments, better social welfare programs, and opposition to the adverse revision of the medical system. (end)