JAPAN: Households of elderly paying less in insurance premiums, shows survey of new health care program

OSAKA (The Yomiuri Shimbun), May 30, 2008: The new medical insurance system has lowered the amount of premium payments for 70 percent of households with at least one person aged 75 or older, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey of selected municipal governments. The survey concerned people aged 75 and older who were transferred to the new system from the conventional national health insurance system under the new health care program that took effect in April. Some of the elderly people experienced a decrease in the medical insurance premium payment amount, while others experienced a rise. The survey looked at to what extent the amount changed under the new system, dividing the elderly into four different family types and three levels of pension income. It was the first survey to cover such a variety of cases assuming different family compositions and income levels. It likely will affect measures the government is considering to remove some of the burdens on the elderly. The survey was conducted among the governments of prefectural capitals and three municipalities in each prefecture where premium payment bills are closest to the national average under the conventional national health care system. Of the 188 municipal governments surveyed, 183 responded. The survey asked to what extent premiums have changed under the new system in the following cases: * A single-person household aged 75 or older. * A married couple both over 75 without children in the household. * A household in which the husband is over 75 and the wife is under 75 without children. * A household of a person over 75 along with a child and the child's spouse. Each of the four cases was further segmented into three different levels of annual pension income: 790,000 yen, 2.01 million yen and 4 million yen. The first level can be seen as a low-income household; the second, an average household living on a pension; and the third, a high-income elderly household. In all, the survey covered 2,196 model households, and found medical insurance premium payments declined in 1,612 cases, or 73.4 percent, under the new system compared with the conventional system. The premium bill for low-income, single-person households fell in 173 municipalities. The payment more than halved in nearly half of such cases. © The Yomiuri Shimbun