I calculated it and realized we are supporting the elderly too much

You often see diagrams about supporting the elderly, but
one of the ways they are supported is

the Late-Stage Elderly Healthcare Systemwhich is what it's called.

It's the system where elderly people aged 75 and over
only have to pay 10% of their medical costs in principle.

As for how this is funded,

10% comes from the elderly themselves,
40% from us in the working generation,
and 50% is shared by the national, prefectural, and municipal governments.

However,
well, at this point, you might think, 'Wait, they only pay 10%?'
and 'Are we in the working generation payingfour timeswhat they pay?'
is the topic here.

When I looked at the actual figures,
they were a bit different.

Fiscal year 2021 funding sources:
Total single-year revenue was 16.1235 trillion yen.

The breakdown is:

Elderly individuals themselves: 1.3783 trillion yen
Us in the working generation: 6.3703 trillion yen

National government: 5.389 trillion yen
Prefectural governments: 1.316 trillion yen
Municipal governments: 1.2704 trillion yen
Other
(Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/12403500/001113015.pdf)

That is the situation.

Did you notice?...

We are paying4.6 timeswhat the elderly pay.

Isn't the burden on the elderly a bit too light?

Why did it end up like this?...
When I looked into it, I found out
it's a deep-rooted problem.

The time goes back to the Eisaku Sato cabinet in 1973.

With the revised Elderly Welfare Act, medical care for those 70 and older
became free.

Oh?

Back then, there was probably a boom
of 'Let's provide welfare to the elderly!'

It seems there were reasons like the inability to support the elderly due to the rise of nuclear families,
and the fact that the pension system wasn't functioning very well either,
but well, the economy must have been good.

This was the beginning of a nightmare.

If it's free, people will go to the hospital, right?
By 1980, medical expenses for the elderly had ballooned to four timeswhat they were before the legal amendment.

And it is difficult for humans to let go of something they have once enjoyed.

In 1982, the Health and Medical Services Act for the Aged introduced a few hundred yenco-payment, but

it is hard to raise the burden suddenly.

After that, little by little,
amendments were made repeatedly.

In 2022,under the Suga cabinet, those 75 and older with an annual income of 2 million yen or more were required to pay 20%.
(This was done by pushing through strong opposition.)

Seriously, how many years have they been dragging this out?
And quietly, Mr. Suga is amazing, but
it's still not enough.

As long as there are many elderly people, politics will be for the elderly,
and people don't want to give up rights they have once obtained.

Until the population shrinks, we, the working generation,
and the generation of our children
are being told to endure it.

That's what it feels like.

But as for what to do about this,
there is nothing that can be done.

So, not to sound like the 'self-defense uncle,' but
we have to live wisely

so as not to lose any more,
and we must raise our children to be wise as well.

That is what I am thinking.

The end