Health Minister Takamaro Fukuoka and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato agreed Wednesday to reduce the official prices for nearly half of all drugs.
Based on the agreement, struck as part of fiscal 2025 budget compilation talks between the finance minister and others, national medical expenses are expected to drop by ¥246.6 billion ($1.57 billion) and government expenditures by ¥64.8 billion.
The drug price cuts will lower the financial burden on patients while eroding the profitability of the pharmaceutical industry.
Meanwhile, the two ministers agreed to raise in stages from August 2025 the upper limit on out-of-pocket medical expenses, which is aimed at curbing the cost to patients when their medical bills swell due to hospitalization and other reasons.
For people with an annual income of ¥3.7 million to ¥5.1 million, the fixed-portion of the maximum copayment is likely to increase 10% to about ¥88,000 per month.
The hike in out-of-pocket expenses is intended to reduce spending from public health insurance programs and lower premium payments mainly for the working generations.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.