Download or read book Health Spending in Japan written by Mr.Masahiro Nozaki and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-08-04 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Health spending has risen rapidly in Japan. We find two-thirds of the spending increase over 1990–2011 resulted from ageing, and the rest from excess cost growth. The spending level will rise further: ageing alone will raise it by 31⁄2 percentage points of GDP over 2010–30, and excess cost growth at the rate observed over 1990–2011 will lead to an additional increase of 2–3 percentage points of GDP. This will require a sizable increase in government transfers. Japan can introduce micro- and macro-reforms to contain health spending, and financing options should be designed to enhance equity.