In a bid to contain health-related expenses shouldered by the state, the House of Representatives passed a government-sponsored bill Thursday to increase the share of health care costs paid by the elderly.
The measure is expected to clear the House of Councilors by the end of the current 72-day extra Diet session Dec. 1 and be go into effect Jan. 1.
The ruling coalition -- the Liberal Democratic Party, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party -- voted for the bill, while opposition party members voted against it.
Under the measure, outpatients aged 70 and over would have to cover 10 percent of their medical costs to a maximum of 5,000 yen per month. Currently, their medical payments cannot exceed 2,120 yen per month.
The 5,000 yen limit would apply to outpatients at large hospitals with at least 200 beds, while 3,000 yen would be the maximum costs at smaller hospitals.
For inpatients aged 70 or above, the monthly limit on their payments for hospital costs would be 37,200 yen.
Elderly patients with relatively low incomes, however, would have their payments reduced.
The upper limit of medical expenses paid by patients under 70 who receive expensive treatment would also be raised -- from 63,600 yen per patient to 121,800 yen.
The hikes are intended to compensate for the bill's abolishment of a measure requiring elderly people to partially pay for their medicine, as well as for an already approved increase in doctor payments under the medical insurance system.
The opposition bloc has criticized the measure, saying it shifts the financial burden to elderly patients in a bid to alleviate financial strains within the medical insurance system.