I’m glad it got scrapped. But should you want to enroll in national health care, do it when you move wards or cities, then you don’t have any back pay.  I heard this on two separate occasions from city office employees. I asked one time I was thinking of canceling my private insurance and enrolling in NHI. I followed her advice and didn’t have to pay any extra.

Kristen you just saved me so much worry.  A million thanks.

Thanks, Tracey, good to know!

How about the insurance issue in general? What do the un/self-employed foreigners recommend? NHI? Another provider?

Thanks!

girljin - 08 March 2010 05:58 AM

Thanks, Tracey, good to know!

How about the insurance issue in general? What do the un/self-employed foreigners recommend? NHI? Another provider?

Thanks!

I’m on the NHI and I’m currently unemployed. It’s based on your income, so I get a much cheaper deal than people with jobs do (of course I’d rather have a job!! lol).

Hmm…as of April 1st I will also be unemployed, but have been teaching at a university the past three years. Kinda scary to think about the cost being based on that salary. Any idea whether it’s possible to sign onto NHI for shorter periods of time, like a few months? I’ll be leaving Japan in July when my work visa expires and when I come back, I will most likely be returning on a spouse visa. So really it’s just the next few months that I’m worried about.

Not sure how that’s scary, since you said you’re unemployed. It’s actually a GOOD thing! There’s a cap, so it’s not like some people are paying A WHOLE LOT and others none. It’s just there for people who don’t make a certain amount or who have lost their jobs.
But anyways, it takes a while to get signed up, so I’d do it quick. I don’t think there’s a time limit, but you definitely will have to go through the process of cancelling it when you leave.

Thanks for the info. My employee insurance was fairly expensive, but since I had a paycheck that was okay. Just wondering if they would charge the same amount for NHI (well, double I guess since I would pay 100%). That would be the scary part.

girljin - 13 March 2010 04:38 AM

Thanks for the info. My employee insurance was fairly expensive, but since I had a paycheck that was okay. Just wondering if they would charge the same amount for NHI (well, double I guess since I would pay 100%). That would be the scary part.

I’m paying less than 10,000 yen if that helps!

That does help - thanks!

I understand that this now doesn’t effect your Visa status. My hubby is going in today to submit the forms for our first visa renewal.
But am I required to pay into a pension by law?
I found it very expensive and being only a part-time worker (dependant visa) I can’t afford it. I’d rather send money home to pay in to my Australian Super.