Job Discussion Forums

tom.s · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 8

I've been looking around the internet, and this forum, and Nova's JMA Health Insurance doesn't seem to be very well regarded. However I've not had any luck finding any other health insurance that looks much good either.

I know there is (or should be) the option of the Japanese national health insurance.. but that actualy seems more expensive, and i'm not sure if it has much in the way of benefits. Not sure if its worth the hassle.

Other than that, looking from the UK, the only options i've found are "gap year travel insurance" policies from people like Endsleigh and Boots. But these seem to be designed more for emergencies and to bring you back to the uk than for ongoing and minor health issues in another country. Are these ok for teaching in japan?

If so, has anyone found any competetive ones they'd recommend?

Alternatively there seem to be more comprehensive ones like GoodHealthWorldwide.. but they are actualy a fair bit more expensive than JMA.

I looked in the FAQ, but it basically just gets sidetracked into the NOVA legalities side of things, and doesn't give much useful information on what to actually do.

Also, what about dental cover?

So, any recommendations on policies or companies?

I'm tempted to just take the Nova JMA cover as it doesn't seem much more expensive than any other options, and its a lot less hassle.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

I can't advise you on foreign health insurance plans. I have the Japanese plan. You get 70% coverage with it. With many foreign plans, you get 100% coverage, so I hear. Look into each one carefully to be sure. One thing more is that some of the foreign plans don't pay your bills right away. Instead, they expect YOU to do that, then wait to get reimbursed. Even if that's a month, some of those medical bills can be pretty steep to pay in full on the day you go to the clinic. Plus, not all foreign insurance is accepted here.

Japanese national health insurance (kokumin kenko hoken, anyway) covers a lot, and you don't have to pay more than 30% of the bill. Moreover, in your first year here, your monthly premiums are only about 2500 yen, so that's not very much. However, there are 2 catches.

1. After the first year, your employment record is known to the authorities, so the monthly premiums are adjusted and will go up about tenfold.

2. If you don't opt for NHI, then decide to take it later, you will have to make back payments (up to 2 or 3 years worth), even if it's in installments.

bornslippy1981 · Joined: 02 Aug 2004 Posts: 271

I signed up today for Kokumin Kenko Hoken, and I got lucky.

I had something from JMA saying my last day of coverage is August 31. The lady at city hall said since I didn't sign up in April, I would have to make back payments for those months.

She called JMA, and they told her that Nova doesn't tell employees they can sign up for Kokumin Kenko Hoken in addition to having JMA. She felt sorry for me because I didn't know.

I had to go home and get a copy of my resignation form for her, and I also took my contract to show her the section saying "The Employee shall participate in an Employer approved health insurance program. The Employee is not eligible to participate in the Japanese Employees' Health Insurance and Employees' Pension Insurance programs (Shakai Hoken)."

I know I didn't get the pension deal today, nor did I want it. She made a copy of my resignation form, and was able to change my NHI start date to today, and saved me about 60,000 Yen in back payments for this fiscal year. I'm not sure why she needed the resignation form, but now I have much better coverage for 13,000 Yen/month instead of awful coverage from JMA at 8000 Yen/month.

I returned to her office about 15 minutes later with flowers and a thank you note. It's the least I could do.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Good for you all around, bornslippy. I wish more ex-NOVA people could make it known that NOVA really doesn't tell its applicants the whole truth about insurance.

Flowers were a nice touch. They'll definitely remember you.

tom.s · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 8

Its odd, the contract in the Booklet i got still has that exact phrase.. but they did mention Shakai Hoken in the interview as an option.. though they did gloss over it and say that they didn't think anyone had ever taken it.

What exactly is the problem with JMA? I can't see any major flaws with it, though there may be better deals out there. Then again, all te small print for all these deals confuese the heck out of me...

Is it worth asking for Shakai Hoken, even if it might not go down well with Nova? What exactly are it's benefits over JMA?

Topo Gigo · Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 57 Location: Japan

Nova don't tell you anything about insurance, other than that you can take out their JMA, and then a 'price comparison' exercise in which they claim insurance costs from 6k per month (JMA) to 30K per month (Japanese national) and that's pretty much all the info given. I think a lot of people opt for the JMA based on those figures and the ease - and I'll tell you what, it's been a real ball-ache trying to find out what the best option is!

After much deliberating, I've decided to go with the Kokumin Kenko Hoken as it is cheap in the first year as it is based on previous earnings and you don't have to get a pension with it, it is instantly recognised by everyone in Japan, the chances of it failing financially are pretty slim (JMA is linked with nova, who have had some worrying press re their financial situation recently), and it's legal.

Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of this!

Ta
TGx

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

wangtesol · Joined: 24 May 2005 Posts: 280

JMA is just accident insurance. And if there is a serious accident, then you will just be shipped to your home country for medical treatment. But if you get the flu, JMA doesn't pay for continuously seeing the doctor. Search for newspaper articles on Nova employee Steve Brown and his problems with a slipped disc caused by the lousy office equipment at Nova...
http://begunto.tripod.com/begunto/index.blog?entry_id=1138838

There should be more info at the Nova teachers branch union website...
http://www.novaunion.com

One big problem with JMA is that it is illegal, so some private hospitals will charged you 120% of your medical costs. Your health is not worth dicking around with.

I knew of one teacher without National Health Insurance who got into a car accident and the ambulance took her to a private hospital. She ended up in hospital for 2 weeks. It was a nightmare since her school would not talk to the hospital about her health insurance situation and why she wasn't enrolled (your employer has to enroll you). So the hospital was going to personally charge her 120% of the medical bill - even for the food! In the end, it got covered under Workers Compensation since the company said that she was on her way to work.

Nova recruiters are often little more than paid liars, and there is no legislation in the UK, US or Canada that prevents overseas recruiters from falsifying working conditions. They can lie their arses off, and they will never be held legally accountable (lies such as no Nova teacher has ever signed up for the National Health Insurance - give me a break).

There are other threads on this website on Nova's medical coverage. Try the search function for JMA, shakai hoken, etc.... There was a good thread last fall or so.