Japan Revises Plan to Raise Individual Medical Expense Limits

From Jiji

February 14 2025

TOKYO – The Japanese government has revised its plan to raise monthly limits on the financial burden of medical expenses for individual patients to maintain the current limits for patients undergoing long-term treatment, it was learned Friday. 

Health minister Takamaro Fukuoka presented the revised plan at a meeting with a group of cancer patients and others on the day. The patient side gave some credit to the revised plan, but still demanded a freeze on the planned hike, saying that the issue affects patients’ lives.

The government drew up its original plan late last year to raise the limits in three stages from this summer, sparking a backlash from patients.

For patients with an annual income of about 7 million yen, the original plan called for raising the monthly limit by about 60,000 yen to about 140,000 yen for the first three times. For the fourth time and later, the limit was to rise from the current 44,400 yen to 76,800 yen in August 2027.

Under the revised plan, the current limits for the fourth time and later will not be raised, regardless of patients’ income levels.