2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Economic Analysis of Fundamental Issues in the Existing Public Health services in Japan
| Project/Area Number |
17530175
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Applied economics
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| Research Institution | International University of Japan |
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Principal Investigator |
KATO Ryuta International University of Japan, Graduate School of International Relations, Associate Professor, 国際関係学研究科, 准教授 (60242971)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2005 – 2006
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| Keywords | Public Health Services / Fee for Services / Population Aging / National Medical Expenditure / Price Difference in Medicine / Employed Hospital Physician / Simulation / Over-work |
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| Research Abstract |
In this research project, the fundamental issues in the current public health services have been explored in economics. The effect of an aging population of Japan on the future public medical expenditure under the current public health services system has also been studied by using a simulation method. The following points are particularly important : First of all, under the current fee-for-services, the current supply-side cost sharing system results in over-dosing of medicine and over-giving of medical treatment. Secondly, although it is usually recognized that a positive difference in prices of medicine between the legitimately fixed price and the actual purchasing price from pharmaceutical companies, which is so called "yakka-saeki", induces over-dosing of medicine, this research has shown that the current fee-for-service system itself induces over-dosing of medicine even without the "yakka-saeki". Thirdly, it has also shown that the current fee-for-service induces under-provision
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of labor supply of self-employed medical physicians with over-dosing of medicine. Fourthly, in terms of hospital employed medical physicians, it has shown that there is a possibility that over-supply of labor by hospital employed medical physicians would happen. The condition of the over-supply of labor depends upon several conditions, and it has shown that there is a possible situation that the reform of the trainee system of medical physicians resulted in the over-supply of labor of the hospital employed medical physician. Since it is likely to result in more risks in medical supply with over-working of hospital employed medical physicians, the reform of the trainee system would induce higher risks in medical supply in Japan. In terms of the effect of an aging population on the national medical expenditure, the ratio of the expenditure to GDP (the GDP ratio) will keep increasing by 1% for the next 10 years, resulting the ratio to be 9.6% in year 2050. In the simulations of an increase in the co-payment rate from 15% to 20% and 30%, it has been found that the national burden ratio would slightly decrease. Since the increase in the co-payment rate induces an increase in precautionary savings due to the reason that the individuals' medical expenditure when they get old would increase, the increase in the co-payment rate results in higher economic growth. If the co-payment increases from 15% to 20%, then the national burden ratio would decrease by 1% in a new steady state, and if the co-payment rate increases to 30%, then the national burden ratio would decrease by 3% in a new steady state. Less
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Research Products
(2 results)
