医療費、最高の４４．２兆円　２１年度、コロナも影響―厚労省

　厚生労働省は１６日、２０２１年度に病気やけがの治療で医療機関に支払われた概算の医療費（速報値）を発表した。高齢化や医療技術の高度化に加え、新型コロナウイルス関連の医療費が増加した影響で、前年度比４．６％増の４４兆２０００億円と過去最高を更新した。
　増加は２年ぶり。前年度は新型コロナの感染拡大に伴う受診控えなどの影響で減少したが、その反動で増加率は過去最大だった。
　概算医療費は、公的医療保険や公費、患者の窓口負担分を集計したもので、全額自己負担の医療や労災などは含まない。医療費全体を示す国民医療費の約９８％に相当する。（2022/09/16-18:12）

Medical costs in Japan in fiscal 2021 rose 4.6 pct from the previous year to a record high of 44.2 trillion yen, due to swelled coronavirus-related expenses on top of population aging and the use of expensive cutting-edge technologies, the health ministry said Friday.
   The growth rate was also the steepest, reflecting a decline in fiscal 2020 after many people refrained from going to the doctor on fears of contracting the novel virus.
   The costs comprise payments from the public health insurance system, taxpayers' money and out-of-pocket costs shouldered by patients, excluding costs fully paid by patients and those covered by the worker compensation system.
   The preliminary total shown by the ministry accounts for roughly 98 pct of the entire medical expenses in the country in the year that ended in March.
   Specifically, expenses grew 2.8 pct to 17.6 trillion yen for inpatient treatment and 7.5 pct to 15.3 trillion yen for outpatient and house call treatment.