The Japanese medical miracle has been good to Hiroko Iguchi. Suffering from a rare skin disease, Iguchi was treated this past year in a major hospital, nearly all of her stay covered by insurance. The care and relaxation paid off. Iguchi said in her 16th floor room at Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital, shortly before she was sent home late in the year. Health costs are soaring as the population ages .
Insurance funds are in debt and sinking deeper.
The system is bleeding from duplicated medical tests, overprescribed drugs and lengthy hospital stays. Fears of a meltdown are pushing the government to charge patients more for health care, create a separately financed system for the elderly and overhaul the way the government sets prices for services and drugs. The troubles are a blow to the Japanese way of health , which has been credited with helping turn a sickly population ravaged by World War II into the world's longest-living nation. The key to that success has been universal coverage . A complex web of public and private insurance programs guarantees care for virtually all Japan's 126 million people.