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CPT
Joined: 25 Mar 2007
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 Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 4:59 am Post subject: Unpaid health insurance? |
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I've found out that the job I've been working at hasn't been paying for my health insurance. I had the little booklet, but they let it expire (I guess?).
My question is, if I get a new job and transfer my visa to an employer that does pay for health insurance, will I be required to pay retroactively for the time I missed?
At a certain point would it be better to just get a new visa? |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 5:42 am Post subject: Re: Unpaid health insurance? |
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| CPT wrote: |
I've found out that the job I've been working at hasn't been paying for my health insurance. I had the little booklet, but they let it expire (I guess?).
My question is, if I get a new job and transfer my visa to an employer that does pay for health insurance, will I be required to pay retroactively for the time I missed?
At a certain point would it be better to just get a new visa? |
Yes and Yes.
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CPT
Joined: 25 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 6:00 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the quick reply.
Two more questions...
1) Could I just ask the new employer to not pay as well? Does it put them at risk in any way?
2) Would leaving without paying up to date on health insurance impact anything else (ie/ ability to claim pension, ability to get health insurance with new visa)? |
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CPT
Joined: 25 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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Sorry to bump this, but I still haven't been able to find reliable answers to these questions.
Also, what happens if I don't pay? Am I just denied access to health insurance, or will they come after me for the money? |
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cincynate
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: Jeju-do, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| 2) Would leaving without paying up to date on health insurance impact anything else (ie/ ability to claim pension, ability to get health insurance with new visa)? |
1. If your school wasn't paying health insurance, chances are they weren't paying National Pension either. The two are connected, and it is nearly impossible to pay one without the other.
2. Even if you are on a new visa, the National Health Insurance doesn't care.. They only go by your ARC number which always remains the same. So even if you get a new visa and your new school signs you up for NHI, they are going to come after you to back pay what you owe.
3. Your school can get in trouble, so if the school is honest, they are unlikely to not pay into Health Insurance for you. The NHIC will go after the school as well, so in the future they could be made to backpay 1/2 of a years cost plus levied heafty fines. This is not something I would ask a school to do right off the bat, they probably will fire you. |
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CPT
Joined: 25 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 2:25 am Post subject: |
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| cincynate wrote: |
| Quote: |
| 2) Would leaving without paying up to date on health insurance impact anything else (ie/ ability to claim pension, ability to get health insurance with new visa)? |
1. If your school wasn't paying health insurance, chances are they weren't paying National Pension either. The two are connected, and it is nearly impossible to pay one without the other.
2. Even if you are on a new visa, the National Health Insurance doesn't care.. They only go by your ARC number which always remains the same. So even if you get a new visa and your new school signs you up for NHI, they are going to come after you to back pay what you owe.
3. Your school can get in trouble, so if the school is honest, they are unlikely to not pay into Health Insurance for you. The NHIC will go after the school as well, so in the future they could be made to backpay 1/2 of a years cost plus levied heafty fines. This is not something I would ask a school to do right off the bat, they probably will fire you. |
Ouch. Sounds worse than I thought.
Thanks for the info though.
Are you sure about the ARC thing? If I hand in my ARC, cancelling my visa, and apply for a new one (not a transfer), I'll have the same ARC number? Didn't realize that. |
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cincynate
Joined: 07 Jul 2009
Location: Jeju-do, South Korea
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 3:14 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Are you sure about the ARC thing? If I hand in my ARC, cancelling my visa, and apply for a new one (not a transfer), I'll have the same ARC number? Didn't realize that. |
Yes, even if you hand in your arc card on your way through immigration, effectively cancelling your current visa, when you are issued a new visa, and apply for the new arc card, your ARC number will remain the same.
One out you may have is if you have never been covered by the NHIC, They won't necessarily know you were in the country on a previous contract and therefore won't go after you to back-pay for a years insurance.
Good luck.. shady bosses are the worst! |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 5:33 am Post subject: |
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| CPT wrote: |
Also, what happens if I don't pay? Am I just denied access to health insurance, or will they come after me for the money? |
You may receive healthcare at some hospitals/clinics, but you will have to pay it in cash. If you leave the building without paying cash, a visit from the cops is likely.
Just get the insurance, your employer is paying half the premium, and the premium is not very big. I've had 2 bone breaks and a few infections. Also, I've needed a CT/lmbar puncture at one point. Even going to the BEST hospital in the city, the government insurance picked up 70% of the tab.
Any serious injury can happen, just get the insurance. |
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CPT
Joined: 25 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 6:11 am Post subject: |
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| Wildbore wrote: |
| CPT wrote: |
Also, what happens if I don't pay? Am I just denied access to health insurance, or will they come after me for the money? |
You may receive healthcare at some hospitals/clinics, but you will have to pay it in cash. If you leave the building without paying cash, a visit from the cops is likely.
Just get the insurance, your employer is paying half the premium, and the premium is not very big. I've had 2 bone breaks and a few infections. Also, I've needed a CT/lmbar puncture at one point. Even going to the BEST hospital in the city, the government insurance picked up 70% of the tab.
Any serious injury can happen, just get the insurance. |
I realize that, and I'd prefer to have insurance all else being equal, but I may be looking at nearly two years in back payments, depending on when my boss decided to stop paying. I only found out because at one point a pharmacist asked me why I don't have insurance.
From the sounds of it I'll have to pay the back payments and try to get my boss' share back. That should be fun. |
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Wildbore
Joined: 17 Jun 2009
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| Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 10:02 am Post subject: |
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| CPT wrote: |
| Wildbore wrote: |
| CPT wrote: |
Also, what happens if I don't pay? Am I just denied access to health insurance, or will they come after me for the money? |
You may receive healthcare at some hospitals/clinics, but you will have to pay it in cash. If you leave the building without paying cash, a visit from the cops is likely.
Just get the insurance, your employer is paying half the premium, and the premium is not very big. I've had 2 bone breaks and a few infections. Also, I've needed a CT/lmbar puncture at one point. Even going to the BEST hospital in the city, the government insurance picked up 70% of the tab.
Any serious injury can happen, just get the insurance. |
I realize that, and I'd prefer to have insurance all else being equal, but I may be looking at nearly two years in back payments, depending on when my boss decided to stop paying. I only found out because at one point a pharmacist asked me why I don't have insurance.
From the sounds of it I'll have to pay the back payments and try to get my boss' share back. That should be fun. |
As long as you pay your back payments, it should be no problem to receive the insurance. The NHIC will go after the employer for the remainder. |
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somethingclever
Joined: 06 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 3:59 am Post subject: unpaid insurance |
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A couple of years ago I worked for an institute in seoul. After several months they had not started my insurance, although they had been deducting from my salary. When i asked them to start it they said that i needed to go with them to the government office to sign the papers to get it started. Of course all the papers were in Korean, so i signed. The school paid the amount owing for the first months of the contract. I used the insurance a couple of times shortly after that, everything was fine. Finished my contract there and started a job at another hagwon. They said that they had signed me up for the insurance, but when i went to the doctor, the insurance didnt work, they said it just wasn't covered.
I got married last year and my wife called to put me in her family. They said that they couldnt because i had the "FREELANCER" insurance. Turns out that the first school had lied to me and signed me up for the freelancer plan rather than the normal hagwon plan.
NHIC is asking me to pay for 2 years of premiums, because on top of screwing me with the plan they also stopped paying the very next month but continued to deduct from my salary for the rest of the year.
We sent the hagwon owner a letter of intent to sue to try and settle the matter of getting the money she deducted from my salary...no response.
NHIC wont let me off the freelancer plan
Tl/dr stuck on freelancer NHIC plan, big backpay owed |
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