Japanese health care bill for 1993

Japan's medical bill for 1993 totalled 25.7 trillion yen ($260.5 billion), an increase of 5.9% over the previous year, according to estimates revealed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. National income rose 3.5% during the year, and medical expenditures accounted for 6.9% of the total income, a drop of 0.2% on the share taken by health care in the previous year.

The Ministry says a significant factor contributing to this rise was the 1.2% increase in reimbursement for treatments implemented in April this year, and notes that a further increase of 1.5% is scheduled for this area in October. Other contributing factors were the aging population and the increase in population numbers.