March 4, 2013

Akahata editorial (excerpts)

The Abe government is promoting discussions on a lifting of the ban on mixed-medical care services providing combinations of treatments both covered by and not covered by public insurance. The out-of-insurance practice will also be a key issue in the TPP negotiations. Patients will need a lot of money if they want to receive mixed-medical treatments. This system will differentiate medical care according to how much money patients can pay, which totally runs counter to the principle of equality in medical care.

Patients pay 10-30% of medical bills for health insurance treatments. In regard to therapies and medicines with the public insurance coverage, the government has strict standards to confirm their safety and effectiveness and to set drug prices.

Intractable disease patients have long waited for the latest treatments, but many of their organizations oppose the elimination of the ban on mixed-medical care services. They instead call for therapeutically-effective treatments and drugs to immediately be included in the public insurance coverage.

It is major pharmaceutical corporations and private insurance companies that are pushing for the removal of the prohibition of mixed-medical care services.

In South Korea where mixed-medical programs have already been introduced, many people have been forced to buy private insurance policies in order to manage their heavier burdens in medical expenses.

The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) is requesting that the government review to what extent the public insurance is to cover, which means in effect a reduction in the public insurance coverage. The business world is also urging the government to exclude advanced medical treatments from the public insurance coverage.

Regardless as to whether someone is rich or not, all people have the right to equal access to healthcare services. Amid an increasing possibility for free combinations of insured and uninsured treatments, the Japan Medical Association advocates maintenance of Japan’s universal healthcare insurance system. It is necessary to increase joint struggles to resist profit-making medical services and work to improve the public healthcare insurance system.