Immigrants forced to opt for government health care
 

As of April 2010, immigration will introduce a guideline which will require enrollment in social health insurance as a prerequisite for visa renewal.

Virtually all international citizens living in Japan have special health care concerns. Those presently on an expatriate health insurance plan will be forced to join a public insurance program, and may lose these important expatriate benefits.

-It won’t cover payment of medical fees at International Clinics in Japan
-There are certain procedures and medicines that are not covered by public health insurance
-No medical/political evacuation coverage
-No comprehensive international coverage
-Those not in the present system have to pay up to 2 or 3 years in back premiums

The Constitution of Japan guarantees the right of all people in Japan to petition the government for the enactment, repeal or amendment of laws, ordinances or regulations.

With this article from the Constitution in mind, the Free Choice Foundation will petition the government in a peaceful and respectful manner for the amendment of regulations pertaining to the health care needs of the foreign community.

Please visit Free Choice Foundation to sign our petition.

Really? Almost all non-Japanese living in Japan have special health concerns? Can we get some data on that?

I`m pretty sure I read that article somewhere - the concerns were more along the lines of wanting to ask their doctor something but the international clinics that spoke English weren`t covered by the national insurance so they just had to go on being concerned or pay for a visit.

As far as I know, residents have ALWAYS been required to enroll in the national health care system. I HAD to be registered 10 years ago, so the only thing that has changed is streamlining the system so that you can`t skirt around the rules and not register - something that was and still is illegal, by the way.
People are panicking now because as you had to be on the insurance all along, if you`ve been here years and years dodging that law you have a bunch of back payments due... Which are going to appear now that the system is connected with that of your visa on a national level. The law there hasn`t changed. If you`d enrolled as you were legally required to do in the first place you wouldn`t have any back payments.

I`ve never heard of an "expatriate health insurance plan" that kicked you off because you also joined a mandatory health plan in another country.

I get the feeling that this Free Choice Foundation has just been told by someone that things are terrible without actually doing research on their own.

I will get stats to you regarding this. In the mean time, let me know what you think of our cause. We are not against govt health care, we just want people to have a choice.

I would do everything I could to be a part of the Japanese national health plan. It is cheaper and more comprehensive than the private health insurance I pay for now in the US, so its hard for me to feel too sympathetic.

If you want to pay for expatriate health insurance I would be surprised there would be insurance companies which would choose not to take your money just because you are also covered by the national health plan.

Good, but that should be your choice. We are NOT against government sponsored health insurance. All we want is for people to have a choice.

Single-payer health systems work best when no one is excluded. Nationalized health care is the norm in the first world. By choosing to live in Japan you are choosing to be a part of that system. It's too bad the loophole will be filled, but it sounds like that is what makes the most sense for Japan. Again, if you feel the want or need to supplement the national health care, then I am sure there are any number of insurance agencies which will happily oblige.

Nationalized health care might be the norm in developed countries (except for the US), but I prefer my private coverage in Japan. It covers the same things which the national plan covers, but also includes coverage for accident or loss of life. It also works at any hospital and clinic in Japan, as well as international clinics.

I've visited a few Japanese hospitals, and while some are quite nice, others look like something you would expect to find in the third world. What's more, many hospitals operate on "banker's hours", that is, 9-5, 5 days a week. Emergency hospitals exist, but are often far away, and even if you can get to one, you may find that there is no doctor on duty.

In order to generate extra revenue, Japan wants to force out private insurers and force everyone to pay into the national plan. That's rather understandable, except that my private coverage costs less than the national plan, while providing more services.

The nonsense about paying back premiums is stupid, particularly if you've never been in hospital, or had your treatments paid by your own insurance. It's illogical and unfair, but since it's only foreigners who are affected, who's going to care?

Everyone who was not in the national plan has to pay back payments when they join. Difference is, there certainly aren`t as many native Japanese who didn`t follow the original law saying that all residents of the country have to be part of one of the national health care plans. Laws that have been in place at the very least 10+ years, as they were around when I first came to Japan.
Basically the law requires you to have been in the plan - the back payments are really more tacked on there because you were breaking the law by not being in one in the first place. Just like you`re required to pay into social security whether you collect it in the end or not.