February 6, 2019

In the Health Ministry survey, the annual income of households covered by the national health insurance in 2017 decreased by 20% over the past ten years, resulting in a heavier premium payment burden, Akahata learned on February 4.

According to the survey on the national health insurance managed by municipal governments, the average annual income of an insured household amounted to 1.36 million yen in 2017, down from 1.67 million yen in 2007. During the same period of time, the percentage of the average premium payment to the average income went up to 10.5% from 8.7%.

The health insurance premium burden is heavier for low-income households. The burden ratio is 8.5% for households earning 7-10 million yen a year, whereas the percentage is 12% for households with an annual income of 1.5-2 million yen and 18.1% for less than 300,000 yen.

The national health insurance program covers the unemployed, including pensioners and the self-employed, as well as non-regular workers who are not covered by any employment-based health insurance program. The number of national health insurance members stood at nearly 30 million. The figure does not include persons aged 75 and over because they have to enroll in a different public health insurance system designed specifically for them.

The premium burden ratio of national health insurance is higher than that of other public health insurance programs. For example, under the Employees’ Health Insurance system whose members are mainly full-time employees, the premium burden is 6-7%.

Past related articles:
> JCP influences Health Ministry to exempt heavy rain victims from medical fees [July 13, 2018]
> JCP Kurabayashi: Don’t take property away from people in arrears with national health insurance premiums [February 2, 2018]