The government is considering scrapping the idea of expanding the range of older residents who must pay out of their pockets 20% of the costs of elderly care services provided under public insurance.
The government is unlikely to include the expansion in fiscal 2024 reform measures for the public insurance program for elderly care services, given the persisting impact of inflation on elderly households, sources said.
The exclusion will be decided in the near future after government talks with the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling camp and a meeting between Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and welfare minister Keizo Takemi.
The basic out-of-pocket charges for elderly care service users are 10% of the total service costs. But elderly people with an annual income of ¥2.8 million or more are charged 20% if they live alone, and those with an annual income of ¥3.4 million 30%.
The government considered expanding the range of people subject to the 20% payments because the total costs of elderly care services covered by the insurance keep expanding as the population ages.
However, members of a subcommittee of the Social Security Council, which advises the welfare minister, opposed the idea, saying that the expansion would stop many from using necessary services and that the burden should not be increased without deep thought.
Many ruling coalition lawmakers also expressed cautious opinions on the proposed expansion.