Medical Costs for Those Aged 75 and Over: At What Pension Income Level Do Copayments Rise to 20% or 30%?

Explanation

Under the 'Late-Stage Elderly Healthcare System,' which covers people aged 75 and over, the out-of-pocket share paid at hospital counters is divided into 10%, 20%, or 30% depending on income. The standard rate is 10%, but those with income above a certain level (including pension income) pay 20%, and those with income comparable to working-age people pay 30%.

Behind this lies a structural problem: as the population ages and the birthrate declines, medical costs keep rising even as the number of working-age people who support the system keeps shrinking. Varying the copayment rate according to income is based on the social security principle of 'sharing the burden fairly according to one's ability to support it.'

Healthcare and pensions are not 'savings that come back to you exactly as you paid them in,' but rather operate on a system of 'mutual support across generations' (pay-as-you-go), in which the working generation supports the elderly generation. That is precisely why society as a whole must continue to debate, across generations, who should bear how much of the burden and how far benefits should extend. This everyday household topic is directly connected to the structure of society.