japanese health insurance

Where is the law that stipulates that people have to pay Japanese health insurance.

It is in the National Health Insurance Act, where all residents of city, town, etc. (including those on Alien Registration) are considered to be insured, unless such residents have signed with other health insurance schemes such as those provided by their employer. ...And if you are (automatically) insured, then you need to pay the insurance premium.

is JNHI only medical cover or does it include pension? If so my says I would have to pay for at least 25 years before I would recieve the pension

The Health insurance is exactly that. The Kokumin nenkin is seperate. And yes 25 years or more applies for you to receive it.

There are some conditions if you are leaving Japan where you can apply for a lump sum withdrawal. There are so many varients though, depending on your employer and if they have a sceme.

Health insurance is just for health insurance. Pension contribution is separate from that. Yes, under the current law, you need to have paid in 25 years to receive pension; note that with some countries there is mutual recognition scheme where you can combine the years you've contributed to your home country's scheme with those in Japan.

AK, I don't think anyone is automatically insured in NHI. Residents of Japan are supposed to enroll and be insured NHI but no one is forced to enroll.

I believe that you are considered part of the NHI system whether or not you are actually enrolled, unless you have a different insurer of course. In the case that you need medical treatment NHI will cover you, and later it would be determined how much back pay you owe and that would be added to the your final bill.

To .,
Whoops, sorry, it was badly phrased. All residents are automatically "considered" insured, meaning are supposed to be enroled and pay in.

By now I consider health insurance almost like tax - something that is unavoidable (speaking from a local's viewpoint).

Years ago, when I left my employer (thus leaving the company's health insurance scheme), then left Japan for a year WITHOUT signing up for NHI. After I came back, they enroled me for the one "past" year and made me pay for thaht year as well, though I was never able to use it :(

After I came back, they enroled me for the one "past" year and made me pay for thaht year as well, though I was never able to use it :(

AK, I'm glad that you didn't need to use it. But the good thing is that had something happened and you needed medical assistance you would still be covered instead of being complete uninsured. The retroactive payment scheme is actually a great thing as everyone is insured (even if they don't think they are), and can essentially buy back into the system at anytime.

yllwsmrf, I think I understand what you are saying. You're automatically considered insured by NHI and you can get "reimbursed" (reduction in backpayments) for treatments received before actually being enrolled.

AK, before moving overseas did you inform the city hall about it and remove yourself from their registry? They should not have charged you during that period if you did.

yllwsmrf, I think I understand what you are saying. You're automatically considered insured by NHI and you can get "reimbursed" (reduction in backpayments) for treatments received before actually being enrolled.

Its not that you get reimbursed per se, But lets say you left your company and are not making NHI payments for a year. Say you need to be treated for something you will immediately enrolled in NHI and charged accordingly (30% of the total), and then they will tack on whatever you would have paid into NHI for the time that you weren't making payments. At least that's how I think it works.

AK, before moving overseas did you inform the city hall about it and remove yourself from their registry? They should not have charged you during that period if you did.

Oops, didn't realize AK said she moved overseas during that year. In that case she shouldn't have been charged.

To.,
When I left Japan for a year, it was of a "temporary" nature that I remained a Japanese resident on the record. So while I was physically not in Japan, thus unable to benefit from the insurance at all, I was *supposed to be* enroled and paying in, which I found out later.

Just the way they raised their eyebrows and automatically signed me up (which was OK) and charged me for the past year without even telling me why told me that it was indeed like taxes lol.

Say you need to be treated for something you will immediately enrolled in NHI and charged accordingly (30% of the total)

You mean enrolling at the city hall and not doing this at the hospital, right? I've only used my NHI card at the dentist but they told me I have to pay 100% upfront if I didn't have my card with me, whether I was actually enrolled in NHI or not.

So while I was physically not in Japan, thus unable to benefit from the insurance at all, I was *supposed to be* enroled and paying in, which I found out later.

As far as I know NHI does cover some treatments received overseas. You cannot choose to go overseas to get cancer treatment or something like that but if you break your leg while on vacation it will be covered by NHI. I may be wrong.

You mean enrolling at the city hall and not doing this at the hospital, right? I've only used my NHI card at the dentist but they told me I have to pay 100% upfront if I didn't have my card with me, whether I was actually enrolled in NHI or not.

Actually I was mistaken in my earlier post, and I've heard that you have to pay up front and then are reimbursed the difference. Sorry, I don't know the exact details.

Yes you do pay up front.
I've had a rather expensive dentist trip in the past and pay 100% upfront even with my card.
You get reimbursed the difference by the insurance.

The Health Insurance I don't mind paying but as far as pension is concerned I''m already fixed up but unfortunately it looks like I will have to pay it. So, Can anyone give me a rough figure for the combined deductions for Japanese Health Insurance and Pension on a monthly salary of 300,000 yen?

I don't have my bankbook handy, but I think it was in the area of 40,000 yen if your salary is 300,000 yen/month.

Pension contribution is not tied to salary - it is per person. If it is the national pension scheme ("kokumin nenkin hoken") I believe it is in the range of 13,000 - 14,000 yen per month (the amount varies slightly depending on your age; there is "nursing care" additional amount if you are over 40 or so).

I don't undestand how pension contribution wouldn't be tied to salary. Does everyone receive the same payout when they retire then?

NHI is based on your previous years salary, however. Hmm, I hope those too together add up to the 40,000 that was coming out of my paycheck all those years.