Table 1.

Reimbursement system for medical expenditures

Age	Income	Self-payment upper limit per month
Under 70 years old	High (monthly income over 530,000 Yen; 5,096 USD)	150,000 Yen (1,442 USD) + [medical expenses – 500,000 Yen (4,808 USD)] × 1 %
	Middle	80,100 Yen (770 USD) + [medical expenses – 267,000 Yen (2,567 USD)] × 1 %
	Low (people who are excluded from inhabitant tax)	35,400 Yen (340 USD)
Over 70 years old	High (monthly income over 280,000 Yen; 2,692 USD)	80,100 Yen (770 USD) + [medical expenses – 267,000 Yen (2,567 USD)] × 1 %, if the patient is hospitalized
		44,400 Yen (427 USD) for outpatient clinic only
	Middle	44,400 Yen (427 USD) , if the patient is hospitalized
		12,000 Yen (115 USD) for outpatient clinic only
	Lower (people who are excluded from inhabitant tax)	24,600 Yen (237 USD) , if the patient is hospitalized 8,000 Yen (77 USD) for outpatient clinic only
	Low (no gross income)	15,000 Yen (144 USD) , if the patient is hospitalized 8,000 Yen (77 USD) for outpatient clinic only

The currency was calculated based on the average exchange rate in 2008: 1 USD = 104 Yen.