|
Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
kanjizai
Joined: 29 Jun 2003
Posts: 69
|
 Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:36 am Post subject: Health Insurance |
 |
|
| I was wondering if there is a way of getting around back payments for national health insurance. I dont work for any company full time. I mostly do dispatch work for several different companies. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Khyron
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 291
Location: Tokyo Metro City
|
| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:48 am Post subject: Re: Health Insurance |
|
|
| kanjizai wrote: |
| I was wondering if there is a way of getting around back payments for national health insurance. I dont work for any company full time. I mostly do dispatch work for several different companies. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
So, because you have a bunch or part-time jobs instead of a full-time job, you think you can get out of the payments that anyone else would have to make?
Do you pay your taxes? Does your employer report your income to the government? If no to both of these, you might have a chance to further leech of the Japanese economy and make the rest of us foreigners look bad. If you've done things the legal way, I have no idea how you could avoid this is you want on the national health scheme.
Why didn't you sign up for national insurance when you first got to Japan? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
reasonJP
Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Posts: 48
|
| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:09 am Post subject: Re: Health Insurance |
|
|
| kanjizai wrote: |
| I was wondering if there is a way of getting around back payments for national health insurance. I dont work for any company full time. I mostly do dispatch work for several different companies. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
I had my own problems with back payments recently, and I have to say, you're almost certainly going to have to bite the bullet on this one. The rules are unclear however, and communication between city halls on the issue is very poor, so you can sometimes get out if you prove you have third party insurance (proof which you wave very quickly under their noses and hope they're dumb enough not to figure out it's not good enough).
Other than that, back payments can be escaped if you:
-pay social security/ national health in France, Belgium or the US and have done so since you came to Japan.
-leave the country (without a reentry permit- in other words leave and come back from scratch)
-leave your city and move to a different one.
Both of the last two methods reset your status and mean you don't have to pay back payments. They are open to abuse as well; people have 'moved' on paper and 'moved' back a month later, or bought a one way plane ticket, used that as proof they've 'left' the country, then cancelled the ticket. Some city halls are getting wise to the workarounds though, so don't blame me if you get caught.
At any rate, you are required by law to be on some form of social insurance, it's just that as with many laws in Japan, its not rigorously enforced, they just assume you're nice enough to obey it. If you want on national health, you are likely going to have to cough up, unless your city hall is populated by simpletons or you use one of the get out clauses above. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
reasonJP
Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Posts: 48
|
| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:23 am Post subject: Re: Health Insurance |
|
|
| Khyron wrote: |
| kanjizai wrote: |
| I was wondering if there is a way of getting around back payments for national health insurance. I dont work for any company full time. I mostly do dispatch work for several different companies. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
So, because you have a bunch or part-time jobs instead of a full-time job, you think you can get out of the payments that anyone else would have to make?
|
It's a bit harsh to impy he's leeching- certainly when I came to Japan, I had no clue I was supposed to sign up to national health, my employers never mentioned it, and my third party insurer discouraged it (although they would do that, wouldn't they?). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
|
| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 3:36 am Post subject: |
|
|
If I may ask, how did you get into the situation? And, just what situation are you in? I presume you have realized you must (emphasis on "MUST") make the backpayments if you choose to sign up for NHI, but it's not clear if you have actually signed up or are just debating doing it, for fear of these backpayments.
If you are concerned about making one lump sum backpayment, don't worry. If you decide to be an upright adult person about it, they will give you the chance to make the backpayment in installments.
If you have no insurance right now, that's illegal. If you have not signed up for NHI, then you can also get another form of insurance (private, whether locally or foreign) and not have to sign up for NHI.
There is a very simple way of avoiding making backpayments at this point, though...
leave the country.
They probably won't tap into your bank account (if you never signed up, they probably don't have your banking info) or chase you down. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
southofreality
Joined: 12 Feb 2007
Posts: 579
Location: Tokyo
|
| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Glenski wrote: |
| If you have no insurance right now, that's illegal. If you have not signed up for NHI, then you can also get another form of insurance (private, whether locally or foreign) and not have to sign up for NHI. |
There's been a lot of confusion about this one, but it appears that enrollment in a Japanese public health insurance scheme is required by law.
From the City of Yokohama website:
| Quote: |
| Every foreign national who has registered and whose period of stay designatedz88;by provisions of Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law is longer than one year(including people who are qualified to stay one year or more even if their period of stay is not over one year yet.)is required to enroll National Health Insurance unless they enroll Social Health Insurance or they are under coverage of Livelihood Subsidies. |
http://www.city.yokohama.jp/ne/life/en/national_health.html |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
|
| Posted: Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:51 pm Post subject: Re: Health Insurance |
|
|
| reasonJP wrote: |
Other than that, back payments can be escaped if you:
-pay social security/ national health in France, Belgium or the US and have done so since you came to Japan. |
No. Just no.
Compulsory *pension system* payments can be avoided, but only if you're set up with the SSTA declarations *before* you leave your home country. They *do* and *will* check those. And they have nothing to do with the health insurance scheme. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
reasonJP
Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Posts: 48
|
| Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 1:30 pm Post subject: Re: Health Insurance |
|
|
| G Cthulhu wrote: |
| reasonJP wrote: |
Other than that, back payments can be escaped if you:
-pay social security/ national health in France, Belgium or the US and have done so since you came to Japan. |
No. Just no.
Compulsory *pension system* payments can be avoided, but only if you're set up with the SSTA declarations *before* you leave your home country. They *do* and *will* check those. And they have nothing to do with the health insurance scheme. |
Actually, I know for sure the French/Belgian thing exempts you from national health if you're set up before you come to japan as you said. I wasn't sure about the American situation either, but that's what my city hall said. Paying British NI will exempt you from pension payments only. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
This page is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling.
Contact Dave's ESL Cafe
Copyright © 2018 Dave Sperling. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
