Japan law to require people on welfare to use generic drugs

January 28, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's public assistance law will stipulate that welfare recipients should use generic drugs in principle if their doctors see no problem, welfare ministry sources told Jiji Press on Saturday.

By encouraging more active use of generic medicines, which are cheaper than original drugs, the ministry aims to hold down the rising medical expenses brought on by the aging of welfare recipients, the sources said.

The ministry will submit a bill to revise the law to the current session of parliament, hoping to put the revised law into effect in October this year.

Medical assistance for people on welfare are fully financed by public funds. Out of approximately 3.7 trillion yen in overall welfare expenses in fiscal 2015, medical aid accounted for the largest share, totaling some 1.8 trillion yen.

To curb the medical assistance costs, the ministry has set a goal to boost the share of generic drugs in all medicines used by welfare recipients to 80 pct or over by the end of fiscal 2018.

The current law only calls for efforts to promote the use of generic drugs, stating that their use by welfare recipients should be "encouraged as much as possible."

Pharmacists recommend generic medicines, but dispense pioneer medicines if there are requests from welfare recipients. The share of generic medicines provided for people on welfare stood at 69.3 pct in 2016.

With a clear provision in the revised law that welfare recipients should in principle use generic drugs, the ministry hopes to make sure that generic drugs are dispensed to them regardless of their wishes, the sources said.

If the amendment is enacted, the ministry plans to notify its details to welfare offices in local governments and pharmacies The change, however, may draw criticism from welfare recipients. Jiji Press