Sometimes it is interesting to see how healthcare is addressed outside the US. In Japan they are trying to figure out how to not charge citizens 75 and older for any insurance premiums, which are deducted from pension benefits. The article doesn’t go in to detail as to what benefits seniors 75 and older receive, but there is a contribution assessed and I don’t know how it would compare to Medicare Part D here, but interesting in the fact that the US is not the only country struggling with healthcare issues of some sort. BD
In Japan, the Health Ministry has confirmed there are plans to scrap the unpopular healthcare insurance program for seniors aged 75 or older. The healthcare insurance program, which was put in place in April to cover about 13 million people, has come under public criticism after it placed a heavier financial burden on elderly people with low incomes. A Health Ministry statement said the healthcare insurance program was well devised but could not be maintained without public support. . Currently, premiums for the insurance program for seniors aged 75 or older are automatically withdrawn from their pension benefits. The Democratic Party of Japan and three other opposition parties have called for abolition of the elderly health insurance program.
Japan's health.care system for all seems similar to Medicare, in that prices are set by a central, government-run body. As a result, providers make little per visit, so it is not uncommon to have multiple visits for an acute illness. Where doctors do make their money is on prescribing drugs, which they stock themselves. One can end up with a number of small envelopes of pills and powders, which are marked only with dosage instructions. Despite Takeda and Dai Ichi Sankyo buying foreign pharmaceutical companies, the Japanese public is forced to make do without many common drugs we in the US take for granted (e.g.,most SSRIs) and are subject to be given proprietary potions we would consider ineffective or outdated (I'm not referring to Chinese herbal medicines). I suspect these types of structural problems are part of this issue, not to mention their economy.
ReplyDelete