Government gives up plan to exclude 90,000 intractable disease patients from medical subsidy

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Government gives up plan to exclude 90,000 intractable disease patients from medical subsidy

Strong protests by patients forced the government to abandon its plan to cut medical expense subsidies for intractable disease patients.

In answer to Japanese Communist Party House of Councilors member Koike Akira's inquiry, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on December 18 informed him that it has withdrawn a plan to exclude about 90,000 ulcerative colitis and Parkinson's disease patients from the medical subsidy program in the next fiscal year.

A ministry official also replied that it will continue to support those who are currently receiving the subsidies even if it decides to revise the program in the future.

Patients' organizations are pleased with this outcome. Japan Parkinson Disease Association President Saito Hiroshi said, "This result was achieved by our struggle in which each patient exerted their own effort to raise public opinion."

Members of his association, for the first time since its foundation in 1976, took to the streets to collect signatures in opposition to the planned cut in the medical subsidies, and collected more than 63,000 signatures since November.

The JCP has strongly opposed the government attempt to cut the medical support for intractable disease patients. Koike in an Upper House Health Committee meeting demanded that the government cancel the plan.
- Akahata, December 19, 2006