Opting out of Japanese National Health Insurance

[Gaisaradatsuraku!]

Is there any way to opt out of this program? Do you have to have proof of your own insurance?

[GomiGirl]

I don't pay it but I have never had to prove that I have my own insurance. I know people who have no insurance and just pay for their medical expenses..

[Taro Toporific]

[Taro Toporific]

Is there any way to opt out of this program? Do you have to have proof of your own insurance?

It's up to your employer to "force" you to get Japanese health insurance or not. Since your employer is a large US <deleted> company, the HR folks already should know the "no-insurnace" scams for ex-pats since that's sort-of part of their business.

As GomiGirl says, "Nobody checks."
Most savvy expat "Packages" use private insurance which is cheaper.

--------Read the FAQ and/or pump them for information-----

GlobalHealth.jp - Healthcare for Foreigners in Japan.
Comprehensive health insurance, suited to fit any budget.
Total in-patient/out-patient cover, loss of
income protection, emergency home return cover, travel,
SPECIAL EXPAT PLANS, and more.
http://www.globalhealth.jp/

[GomiGirl]

Are you moving to Japan anytime soon?

[maraboutslim]

Has the National Health Insurance gotten expensive or something? I can't imagine private insurance being less since I was only paying about 10,000yen for myself and wife and kid on the national insurance back in the 90s. (it would now cost about $600 a month for hmo coverage here in california. needless to say we don't participate in that scam. if anyone needs anything expensive, we're going back to japan - so some of you guys need to pay into the system to fund us, ha!)

[Gaisaradatsuraku!]

Are you moving to Japan anytime soon?

It's possible. I have been considering an offers from two different banks. Could happen!

[Gaisaradatsuraku!]

[Caustic Saint]

You guys are amazing. I have been under the gun all this month so haven't had a chance to check in. However, I did get your link to tobishoku pants. How in God's name do you find this stuff?

Data mining. It's the next big thing. Now, if only I could get somebody to pay me to do it.

(Yes, I know you responded to something Taro posted - not me - but I get asked the same thing all the time too.)

[Taro Toporific]

You guys are amazing.
Data mining. It's the next big thing. Now, if only I could get somebody to pay me to do it.
(Yes, I know you responded to something Taro posted - not me - but I get asked the same thing all the time too.)

Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Yeah Causty, I hear ya. If only I could get somebody to pay me to do it in the REAL WORLD rather than here in the Land-o-Concrete(tm).

A lot of what I do here at Maybe-the-Largest Inc.--besides overposting on the FG---is "Pin the Tale on the Donkey Product-name" and "Quick Find the Answer to the FarkqueUp of the Day".

For example, one on Maybe-the-Largest's robotic laparoscope's just killed another sad sack-o-sheeee-it and I gotta find out why. Do I really know the difference between an endoscope and a laparoscope? Nope. But by 1pm, I'll know. AND I'll have a press release ready that'll butt-plug any NY ambulance chaser in his tracts/tracks.

[ramchop]

"Laparoscope's don't kill people, people kill people."

- NLA (National Laparoscope Association)

[Taro Toporific]

Has the National Health Insurance gotten expensive or something? I can't imagine private insurance being less since I was only paying about 10,000yen for myself and wife and kid on the national insurance back in the 90s.

Like Ward Tax, National Health Insurance is based on your previous years income which for a fresh-off-the-boat FG is zero. The first year, National Health Insurance will be the min. charge, which in the 90s was around 10,000yen. Then the second year it goes up on a sliding scale based on your income. J-company National Health Insurance is cheaper than public (freelancer, selfemployed) National Health Insurance.

In Gai's case, a bank, a J-bank will not cut him much slack and the bank's General Affairs/HR office will force him to join the company's National Health Insurance scheme. Ditto for CitiBank Japan, Credit Swisse, and other high-profile FG banks. Lower-profile, institutional oriented or investment FG banks may allow opting out and well as off-shore payment of wages, etc.

[maraboutslim]

Ah. Thanks for the explanation. I had forgotten it was based on income. No wonder it wasn't so much for me, ha! I worked freelance and reported about as much income as I figured I needed to for them to not hastle me at visa renewal time, and not a yen more, ha!

[GomiGirl]

[kamome]

Gai:

Make sure your payroll is handled offshore. If you are paid in Japan, you will most likely be forced to pay into the Japanese social insurance scheme (which includes health care, social security, employment insurance). Japanese companies will automatically sign you up for it and will most likely pay you onshore. Foreign companies, if savvy enough, will handle compensation through a Hong Kong or US affiliate and put the cash in your US-based or HK-based bank account. All you have to do is withdraw cash whenever you want to use it here.

This doesn't exempt you from paying tax in Japan. That's a whole other ball o' wax.

[bejiita]

ambulance chaser

Did someone mention ambulance chaser? Naw, the real reason why you don't have to worry about lawsuits, especially class actions, is that the discovery process doesn't exist in Japan.

[NeoNecroNomiCron]

The Hoken, japanese national heathe insurance only costs me around 1000 yen a month. Actualy its not so bad. You can go to the doctor for free, even if you just need a plaster and that only costa a third. Even you dont have to pay straight away and if bill is to high you can get assistance.

I have used my Hoken once and it already has paid for its self. It also dosent have repeat clauses some health insuarances have.


Actualy my company asked me if I wanted to arange my own insurance, and I opted for the national one as it is so F' N cheap.

[vvx]

Based on last year's salary. Were you in Japan last year? If not, your salary was realllllly low!

[canman]

If you are headed to Tokyo, I think going the private insurance way is the best. A lot of the companies have a lot of extras thrown in. Last year using Global Healthcare, I not only had a ten day stay in the hospital covered 100%, but they also paid for my plane ticket home when my Dad had a heart attack. But as we talked about before being up here in the boonies of Hachinohe, it is sometimes a pain in the neck as a lot of hospitals look at me like I've got two heads when they ask me for my Hokensho and I have to tell them I don't have one.
After years of complaining from my wife I decided to join the National Health Insurance system and my wifes cost increased by 10 000 yen. But I will keep the private isnurance as a back up, as I don't like this 30% surcharge that you have to pay.

[NeoNecroNomiCron]

vvx> Yes I didnt work last year but I thought that only tax was based on last years salery and the hoken is nearly always the same.

canman1> If the cost of treatment is very high you can easily dispute the 30% there is even a form lol...

[kamome]

vvx> Yes I didnt work last year but I thought that only tax was based on last years salery and the hoken is nearly always the same.

canman1> If the cost of treatment is very high you can easily dispute the 30% there is even a form lol...

Nope. The shakai houken calculation is a percentage of your previous year's salary. So if your salary went from zero to 300,000 yen, guess what: you're going to get a rude surprise.

Also, you should have taken the offer to arrange your own health insurance. By paying into the shakai houken, you assumed a triple burden: health insurance, social security, AND unemployment insurance. You don't want to pay social security, because you won't see that money again. If you're going to pay social security, pay it in your own country, so at least you're benefiting your grandmother or something.

[canman]

Kanome, when I signed up for the health insurance system, they told me I had to also join the pension plan and the unemployment insurance program. But my accountant told me that I only had to pay the health insurance premiums. Of course I will not be able to get a pension when I retire, nor unemployment benefits, but right now I'm taking that money that would have been wasted and putting it into a money market account in the Isle of Mann.
The thing I fear is that being a small business we can get away without paying these things now, but if the gov't really gets hungry and tough, we may be forced into paying into the program and still not be able to receive anything. We'll have to wait and see how things play out.

[kamome]

Kanome, when I signed up for the health insurance system, they told me I had to also join the pension plan and the unemployment insurance program. But my accountant told me that I only had to pay the health insurance premiums. Of course I will not be able to get a pension when I retire, nor unemployment benefits, but right now I'm taking that money that would have been wasted and putting it into a money market account in the Isle of Mann.
The thing I fear is that being a small business we can get away without paying these things now, but if the gov't really gets hungry and tough, we may be forced into paying into the program and still not be able to receive anything. We'll have to wait and see how things play out.

As far as I know, shakai houken is a total package, and you can't separate out one of the insurance premiums from the others (I'mno expert in these things though). There are licensed Japanese social insurance practitioners who can give you the lowdown. However, I suspect that they will just say you have to sign up for everything. And they won't be able to tell you why; they just knnow you have to. Better to avoid the whole thing and opt out of shakai houken completely, then arrange your own health insurance, pension, etc. through private offshore companies.

Also, why are you investing in an Isle of Man offshore account? If you're American, you will get screwed down the line when you want to repatriate your earnings.