Japan’s health ministry will conduct a survey to evaluate drug pricing in advance of the regular biennial pharmaceutical price revision slated for April 2020. The decision to conduct the survey was solidified in June, when the Central Social Insurance Medical Council, commonly referred to as Chuikyo, approved the health ministry’s survey implementation plan.
The survey is a key part of Japan’s drug pricing system, in which all pharmaceutical prices are evaluated and reviewed every two years. Reimbursement rates to drug companies are decided by the government and subsidized by the country’s public health insurance system.