Job Discussion Forums

[murasakimoon]

Hi there

What are the best options for private health insurance in Japan?

Is it better to go with national health insurance in addition to private,
or skip the national system altogether?

Any recommendations for private companies?

Cheers,
MM

[Maitoshi]

Unless you are making some serious money, why would you consider a private plan over the national one? If your employer doesn't offer a private plan and you make an average income, the national scheme is likely to be the best value.

[murasakimoon]

Actually I will be making more than decent money and health is important to me.

Have you found the Japanese national health insurance scheme to be effective, Maitoshi?

[Vince]

In case you aren't aware of it, enrollment in either Employee Health Insurance or National Health Insurance is mandatory. I remember some of the private insurance companies' Web sites saying that they could help people get out of the national plan (this was back in the early 2000's), but I don't know how that would have worked.

If I were back in Japan and considering medical insurance, I'd start with the assumption that I'd be in the national plan and that private insurance would be supplemental. Whether supplemental is necessary depends on your needs. You'd want to see what's covered by the national plan, and if you're comfortable with that level of coverage.

[TokyoLiz]

Pay the mandatory insurance. One foreigner I know had never paid the national, and when she had a life changing illness, her private insurer refused to pay out. She paid two years of back payments to the national insurance after she got care in hospitals here.

Comprehensive info here - http://japanhealthinfo.com/japanese-healthcare-services/japanese-health-insurance/

[Maitoshi]

The national scheme works just as well as my employer's insurance. All the doctors and hospitals in my area take both. It's very different from NHS, if that's your basis of comparison.

[Pitarou]

Join the National Health Insurance (kokumin kenko hoken). It offers better coverage than all but the most expensive of private schemes. And even if your private coverage is excellent, do you want to be kept waiting for urgent medical treatment while the hospital tries to figure out whether your insurance will pay for it?

There is also the fact that National Health Insurance is mandatory. While it's possible for temporary foreign workers to get away without joining it, the longer you stay in Japan, the more likely you are to encounter trouble with authorities if you don't join. And if you attempt to join at a later date you'll be hit with a bill for two years of "missed" payments.