Korean Job Discussion Forums

[amanley206253]

I work at a private school, and have done so for over four months now. This is my second year teaching in Korea.

Until now, I've had no reason to make a trip to a dentist, or hospital. Beyond the initial checkup I received upon starting my job, I've not returned for any sort of medical help.

Three days ago I went to a dentist. I gave them my foreigner card and they informed me that I have no insurance. I went to a clinic, and again I was informed I'm without insurance. The only coverage they can see that I've had was from the previous year. This bothered me, as I started putting a few things together, in obvious realization that I've been paying into a pension each month. If I have no coverage, where was this money going to?

Upon telling my boss' assistant about this, they too were apparently surprised. It seemed fair that if my paperwork was never filed for my medical insurance, that money, surely accumulated and lying somewhere, would promptly be returned to me. Not so. Hours after informing the staff of this, I was told that the money had been sent to the company.

This seems odd to me, even suspicious. I was also told too that this was the insurance company's mistake. How, then, or why, then, could it have been their fault when they had received no money to begin with. It seems I am being told two stories, each in obvious conflict with one another.

Now, I am having a bit of a quarrel with my school over the matter. Their case is simply that all foreigners are required to have insurance, and so the money was due for the company anyway. I'm told it's a law. But even in agreeing with that, it seems I might have a complaint that may supersede that law. Do I have a case here? I would hate to be ignorant of something that proves me unable to fight this, but it seems to me that anything but a refund of the money already paid would be unjust and even illegal on the school's part. If my visit to a hospital was more of an emergency, how would it look to a court (and I will admit freely I know little of Korean law) to know that I was under no insurance all the while?

의견이 주세요.

[ontheway]

[jrwhite82]

Is your employer enrolling you in some "private system" or something? Take a trip to your local NHIC office to find out if you have insurance. They should have given you a little pamphlet that is bankbook sized but folds out multiple pages long.

When you say you went to a dentist...well I'm pretty sure dental is not covered at all.

Also, you say you are paying into pension. That is different than insurance. You should be paying both. If you employer is deducting the money for healthcare he should be matching it and paying to the national healthcare scheme.

If he has failed to do so, you will have to backpay the months you missed and so will he. But if he took the money from you already, you shouldn't be charged for that obviously.

[NYC_Gal 2.0]

Dental is covered to a point. The costs are reduced, in some cases a great deal, in others, not so much.

[winterfall]

[amanley206253]

I was informed originally of the details of my insurance before I even signed the contract with this school. Dental IS covered. And yes, this is in addition to the pension. I implied that by what I wrote but obviously worded it wrong.

Yes I am full-time. What it comes down to is that the school withheld the money from the company until I prompted them to do so by simply going to a dentist, where I was told I was under no kind of insurance at all. Keep in mind that as I told my school about this, they insisted it was the insurance company's fault. But if they never sent money, it couldn't have been their mistake. That was quite the clue to a lie having been told to me. A lie or a serious miscommunication within the staff at my school.

I told them that we're, or I, or they are, lucky that the circumstances of me stopping by the dentist and hospital were routine and without real urgency. In America, if it's an emergency you'll always be admitted to the ER. I do not have that same confidence in Korea (although, it seems they probably would to).

What I hope the school would do is admit their mistake and refund the money I've paid (literally for nothing) and to start now my insurance. Is this a bizarre request considering that I've caught them in a mistake? It's unfortunate because I like my school, and like my boss.

And also, today I've received phone calls and texts from Korean teachers from the school seemingly informing me, if I can understand correctly, to not pursue this issue and let it be. However I don't have interest in simply nodding my head and moving along when it seems there's been something strange that's occurred.

[busanliving]

If it is the national health you are enrolled in then the school have to pay from the date you start in order for you to qualify now.

Either way I would think seriously about persuing this, you could cause yourself lots of problems for the future. Sure you can fight it if you want, just decide if it is worth the headache.

[nathanrutledge]

Check out the NHIC website.

www.nhic.or.kr

From the site, the FAQ page regarding a question on having a molar replaced -