Japan Press Weekly

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2013 November 6 - 12 [WELFARE]

JCP Koike opposes adverse revision of state support system for intractable disease patients

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Koike Akira on November 5 urged the government to stop putting heavier financial burdens on intractable disease patients at a meeting of the House welfare committee.

The government is considering increasing the number of intractable illnesses which are covered by a state system to subsidize medical costs for the patients. It also is attempting to oblige serious case patients who are currently exempt from paying medical expenses to pay for a part of the payment and raise the upper limit of medical expenses paid by mild case patients from the current level.

The JCP lawmaker criticized the government’s move to impose heavier financial burdens on the patients in exchange for increasing the variety of diseases covered by the support system, saying, “The government should abandon the idea which calls for further cost sharing of medical expenses.”

Patients with intractable diseases suffer economic hardships because they need to pay for not only expensive medical costs but also for travelling expenses to hospitals and other related costs for the rest of their lives, Koike stated.

Koike cited a survey result that if the support system is changed as planned, a patient with an annual income of 1.6 million yen will pay up to 10.6% (currently 2%) of their disposable income in medical expenses. Another survey shows that the upper limit of medical payment of a household earning 3.7 million yen a year will increase from 5,570 yen a month to 24,600 yen a month or 295,200 yen a year. “How can you expect them to bear such a heavy burden?” Koike stressed.

Welfare Minister Tamura Norihisa in reply said that he will look into the matter.