Tokyo, Oct. 15 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s health ministry plans to introduce a new system designed to reflect financial income in the calculation of public medical insurance premiums for people aged 75 and older and in determining their share of medical costs, starting in August 2029, informed sources said Thursday. Under the system, municipalities will obtain information on financial income, including stock dividends and capital gains, and use it to determine insurance premiums and patients’ shares of medical costs according to income. The plan will be presented Friday at a subcommittee meeting of the Social Security Council, an advisory body to the health minister. Under the existing medical care system for those aged 75 and older, local governments determine insurance premiums and patients’ shares of medical costs. The share is generally 10 pct, but rises to 20 or 30 pct for those with higher incomes. Pensions, salaries and real estate income are currently taken into account in calculating insurance premiums for the elderly. The health insurance system reform law, enacted in May, requires financial institutions to submit statutory reports on the financial income of such elderly people to local governments online. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
