１８年度医療費、過去最高＝ジェネリックは拡大－厚労省

　厚生労働省は２６日、２０１８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。前年度比０．８％増の４２兆６０００億円となり、過去最高を更新。同省担当者は「高齢化と医療の高度化の影響」と分析している。
　一方、医療費抑制のために使用を促している安価な後発医薬品（ジェネリック）は拡大。１８年度末時点のジェネリックの使用割合は前年度比４．７ポイント増え、過去最高の７７．７％に達した。（2019/09/26-14:51）

Japanese national medical expenses hit a record 42.6 trillion yen in fiscal 2018, up 0.8 pct from the previous year, a health ministry preliminary report said Thursday.
   The growth in the expenses paid to medical institutions for treating diseases and injuries reflects the country's aging population and an increased use of expensive advanced medical technologies and drugs, a ministry official said.
   In the year that ended in March, low-priced generic drugs, promoted in an attempt to curb medical expenses, accounted for a record 77.7 pct of the combined amounts of patent-protected drugs and their generic counterparts used, up 4.7 percentage points.
   The preliminary national medical expenses comprise payments from the public health insurance system, other public expenses and out-of-pocket costs paid by patients. Excluded are costs related to workers' compensation and medical expenses paid fully by patients without relying on funds from the insurance system.
   Of the total, medical expenses tied to hospitalized patients accounted for 40.6 pct, reaching 17.3 trillion yen. Those related outpatients accounted for 34.2 pct, at 14.6 trillion yen.