Medical expenses in Japan for fiscal 2023 rose 3% from the previous year to ¥48.1 trillion, marking a record high, the health ministry has said.
On a per capita basis, the expenses paid to medical institutions for the treatment of illness and injury in the year through March 2024 expanded 3.5% to ¥386,700, also an all-time high, according to a final report released Friday.
The rise in medical costs is attributed to an increase in influenza cases, the country’s aging population and costly medical treatments using advanced technologies.
For those 65 or older, per capita expenses reached ¥797,200, 3.7 times that of individuals under 65, whose average was ¥218,000. This older age group accounted for ¥28.9 trillion, about 60% of the total national medical expenditure.
Financial resources for the medical costs included ¥18 trillion from central and local government funds, ¥24.1 trillion from public medical insurance premiums and ¥5.7 trillion patients paid directly to medical institutions.
By prefecture, Kochi had the highest per capita medical expenses at ¥496,300, followed by Kagoshima at ¥469,800 and Tokushima and Nagasaki at ¥467,100. Saitama was lowest at ¥342,500.
AloJapan.com