15 December 2017 - Changes to Japan’s drug reimbursement system care are inevitable. The only questions are the extent of changes and when they will be implemented.

For a very long time the growth of medical expenses paralleled the growth of Gross National Product (GNP), money saved by cutting drug reimbursement prices was used to increase medical fees, and the population was relatively young. Recently these factors completely changed. GNP growth slowed and medical expenses increased. Doctors’ political power weakened so the growth of medical fees was curtailed. The population aged, thus becoming more intensive users of the health care system.

These factors caused the powerful Finance Ministry to get involved in policies previously solely managed by the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare. At first, their advice was offered via polite suggestions for reform. When these were equally politely ignored, the Finance Ministry turned to aggressive recommendations that must be implemented.

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