EXCLUSIVE: MOF Downplaying Effects of Preventive Care

October 4, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Ministry of Finance will warn at a panel meeting next week against optimism that preventive medical care will help reduce public spending on medical services, and call for the continuation of social security reform involving heavier burdens for the public, it was learned on Wednesday.

At the upcoming meeting of the Fiscal System Council, MOF will insist that the possible cost-reducing effects of preventive care should not be reflected in the government's fiscal 2019 budget, due to be compiled later this year, informed sources said.

Preventive care includes lifestyle improvement and moderate physical exercise, as well as regular health checkups. It is a key part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's social security reform initiative toward "100-year life society."

The government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy is expected to hold talks on issues including preventive care, at a meeting on Friday.

In April, an economy ministry panel estimated that preventive care could help save tens of billions of yen in medical costs for people aged 60 or older.

Meanwhile, some experts argue that preventive care only delays disease development, leaving lifetime medical costs per person unchanged.

MOF is concerned that excessive hopes for preventive care could reduce momentum for fiscal consolidation, the sources said.