Photo/Illutration A caregiver tends to an elderly person. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The welfare ministry is considering raising public nursing care insurance premiums for high earners 65 and older and reducing premiums paid by people in the same age group with low incomes.

The insurance program was created in fiscal 2000 to pay for the nursing care of older people, but premiums have more than doubled since then because of the rising number of people using the system.

Officials expect premiums will continue to rise into the future due to Japan’s rapidly graying population, so the government intends to make the system more sustainable by imposing heavier burdens on high-income earners.

Discussions on the proposal kicked off when it was presented at an Oct. 31 meeting of the social security council, which advises the ministry.

The ministry aims to decide on the proposal by year’s end and introduce new premiums for people 65 and older in fiscal 2024, when they are scheduled to be revised.

The central government organizes those 65 and older into nine income levels and sets a base rate.

The highest earners, who gain more than 3.2 million yen ($21,600) annually, pay 1.7 times the base rate under its program, while the lowest earners, including those living on welfare benefits, pay 0.3 times the base rate.

But each municipality can set its own rate after considering the central government’s program, meaning the figures vary across the country.

The average base rate of all municipalities across Japan from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2023 is 6,014 yen a month, according to ministry officials.

The proposal up for consideration would increase the number of income brackets among those aged 65 and older.

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