Job Discussion Forums

[fishrush]

Hey, I'm moving to Japan next week, how soon will I be covered under NHI? Do I just show up, pay my premium and I'm good? I'm curious because I want to cancel my health insurance here in the U.S., but not before I'm covered there. THANKS PEEPS.

[fluffyhamster]

You have to sign up for it (I'm assuming your employer isn't covering it). You can enrol when you go along to your J local city hall soon after arrival to register your address and get your alien registration card. Best to get some travel insurance with health coverage for the period between departure/cancellation of your US policy and enrolment in J NHI. For further details, maybe do a search of my and others' J forum posts for 'NHI', 'KKH' (kokumin kenkou hoken 国民健康保険), 'kokumin', and the abbreviated form 'kokuho'. Note that shakai hoken (社会保険) in addition to health insurance involves a pension/pension payments and thus costs considerably more than KKH in the first year (esp. if the employer isn't paying half!) - tens of thousands, as opposed to mere thousands, of yen per month - so don't let the city hall folk flog you shakai hoken rather than kokuho unless you have good reasons for wanting the former (e.g. you have dependents also needing health cover, and/or plan on retiring in Japan).

[thomthom]

I have a question relevant to this.

I want to sign up to health insurance ASAP, but within the next month or so I will be changing my visa type (from Instructor to Humanities). Will this make any difference? If I'm willing to pay 100% of it, do they need to see my work contract or communicate with my employer in any way when I go to set it up?