Japan's health insurance to cover ¥167 million gene therapy drug
Considered the world's most expensive medicine, relatively few cases are expected to require the one-time dosage of drug to treat spinal muscular atrophy.
Japan's silence on HPV vaccinations will lead to 11,000 cancer deaths, study says
A decision by the government to stop recommending adolescent girls receive an HPV vaccination will likely result in almost 11,000 deaths from cervical cancer if it is not reversed, according to a study in a prestigious medical journal. The HPV vaccine has been a political ...
Government sends notices to prefectures seeking talks on merging some public hospitals
As the country faces a need to streamline the medical sector amid soaring medical expenses, the health ministry has sent notices to prefectures requesting discussions on possible mergers of publicly run local hospitals. The move came after the ministry announced the list of 424 public ...
Japan's public insurance to cover preventive breast and ovary removal for cancer patients
The health ministry said public health insurance can now cover mastectomies and oophorectomies for breast or ovarian cancer patients who have a hereditary mutation that raises tumor risk.
Jeremy Corbyn has a radical Labour message. Can he sell it to Britain?
Jeremy Corbyn pulled no punches as he presented the country with his plan for a Labour government, the most radical proposed since 1983, when the party suffered its worst postwar defeat. Railways, water supply and broadband infrastructure would be brought into state ownership. The government's ...
Japanese hospitals faced financial difficulties in fiscal 2018, survey finds
Hospitals faced continuing financial difficulties in fiscal 2018, with institutions across the country registering a minus 2.7 percent profit margin on average, a government survey has shown. The negative profit margin for hospitals with 20 or more beds was 0.3 percentage point better than in ...
Japan Finance Ministry proposes raising out-of-pocket medical costs for those 75 and over
The Finance Ministry on Friday proposed cutting official medical service fees and raising the proportion of medical expenses paid by patients themselves, with the aim of improving the financial condition of the country's health insurance system. The proposals, intended to hold down social security costs ...
Medical expenses continue to balloon as the elderly population keeps growing, and reform of the medical service system is unavoidable to curb the incease in costs.
Japan's new social security panel eyes pension and medical care reforms
A newly established government panel for discussions on reforms to the social security system so that it benefits all generations held its first meeting on Friday. "We'll discuss sustainable reforms for pensions, medical care, elderly nursing and labor in light of the sluggish birthrate, the ...
Japan insurance council greenlights coverage for gene therapy drug to combat clogged arteries
The Central Social Insurance Medical Council on Wednesday approved the first health insurance system coverage for a gene therapy drug. Collategene, which is given through muscle injection to patients suffering from clogged arteries, will join the list of drugs covered by the system on Sept. ...
The proposal would end coverage for prescription and nonprescription drugs with identical ingredients, saving ¥60 billion a year but forcing patients to pay the full cost.
Japan's social security benefits topped ¥120 trillion to hit record high in 2017
Social security benefits paid out in fiscal 2017 reached a record high and exceeded ¥120 trillion for the first time, a welfare ministry-affiliated think tank said Friday. The figure for the year to March 2018 stood at ¥120.24 trillion, up 1.6 percent from the previous ...
