Japan Press Weekly

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2008 April 23 - 29 [POLITICS]

New medical system will discourage doctors from providing life-support treatment

At a House of Councilors committee meeting on April 22, Japanese Communist Party representative Koike Akira revealed that the new medical system for the elderly aged 75 and over was introduced with the aim of discouraging medical institutions from providing life-support treatment for aged patients.

The new medical system started on April 1 amid widespread public criticism.

A health ministry document that explains the new system says it provides a mechanism for restraining life-support treatments that may cost as much as 10 million yen.

Koike said, “Is it wrong for medical doctors to try to meet requests from family members to have their loved-ones live longer?”

Health Minister Masuzoe Yoichi said, “Necessary medical treatments will continue to be available,” but added, “Discussion will be necessary in order to determine the correlation between burdens and benefits.”

A study shows that end-of-life care on a patient aged 75 or over with heart disease costs 1.57 million yen while similar care on a patient younger than 75 costs 3.02 million yen.

Koike said that the ministry’s explanation that end-of-life care for elderly patients aged 75 and over is very costly is false.

“This shows that the cost for end-of-life care for the elderly aged 75 and over has already been suppressed. Further cuts under the new system will discourage doctors to provide even basic end-of-life care,” Koike said.
- Akahata, April 23, 2008