FEB. 2009

No.64

LIVING GUIDE MORIOKA
MORIOKA INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS ASSOCIATION〒 020-8531 MORIOKA-SHI WAKAZONO-CHO 2-18
TEL 019-626-7524

e-mail moriintl@nifty.com
http://www.e-morioka.com/~moriintl/top.html

National Health Insurance (NHI)
In Japan there is a medical insurance system which allows everybody to access medical care
free from anxiety with a small burden of expense. It is a mutual support system in which insuredpeople pay premiums (taxes) to help each other pay medical cost. Anybody living in Japan must
be enrolled in the system.
There are two schemes of the insurance - the Health Insurance for corporate employees, andthe National Health Insurance (NHI) for those who are not covered by the Health Insurance.
Self-employed people and foreign nationals (including students) who made alien registration andstay in Japan for more than one year have to join the NHI.
＊You do not need to join the NHI if you are covered by U.S. laws or ordinances for expense
payment and have a certiﬁcate of being covered by an eligible insurance scheme for thepayment of medical expenses in Japan.

■ For being enrolled in the NHIIn Morioka, you are to apply for the NHI■ Notify the city oﬃce when ーーYou join the Health Insurance scheme ofwhen you apply for alien registration atyour employer (you are not removed fromthe Resident Registration Division on thethe NHI unless you notify that to the city

ﬁrst ﬂoor of the city oﬃce or at the Zaimuoﬃce).

Jumin-ka , Tamayama Sogojimusho . Yourー

health insurance card will be issued rightー A baby is born, the head of your household

after your application is accepted. Be sure tohas been changed, or someone in yourtake your health insurance card wheneverfamily insured by the NHI has died.

you go to a doctor or medical institution.

ー・You lost or mess up your insurance card.

You move to a new address.
If you move out of Morioka City, handin your insurance card to the city oﬃce
and notify the date when you move outof Morioka. Go to the municipal oﬃce ofyour new address within 14 days after
moving in and have you and your family
registered in the new address.

ーWhen you leave Japan you need to notifythat to the city oﬃce, bringing your healthinsurance card, seal (hanko , if you haveone), alien registration certiﬁcate andairplane ticket or whatever shows the dateof your departure.

■ Ratio of medical expense you pay
The table below shows the self-pay ratios of medical

the payment notice to a bank or other designatedﬁnancial institution and pay the tax.

expenses. The ratio depends on the age of the person
receiving medical care. The rest of the expense is paidby the NHI to the medical institution.
AgeSelf-pay Ratio

Before compulsory

20％

educationinternational students
Foreign nationals who hold "college student" or"pre-college student" visa are required to be enrolled
in the NHI. Part of your medical expense will be paidby the Japan Student Services Organization (JSSO).

Compulsory education

30％

to 69

20％ (10% until March 31, 2010)

70 to 74

■ Medical expense reimbursement system for【f you have a certain amount ofincome, your ratio is 30%.】

Example: If your self-pay ratio is 30 percent;
Medical expense: 3,000 yen

With reimbursement by the JSSO fund, which pays
35 percent of the self-pay amount of your medical
expense, you will actually have to pay about 20
percent of the total medical expense.
For applying for the reimbursement:
1. Go to the medical institution designated by theNHI, hand in your insurance card and receive
medical care.
2. After that, pay the self-pay portion of yourIf you are insured

If you are not insured

medical expense.
3. Hand in the receipt, which has your name andshows that the medical care you received isyou pay 900 yen

you pay 3,000 yen(30% of the expense)(full expense)

covered by the NHI, and the "Application Formfor Medical Expenses Reimbursement" to theinternational student section of your university
or school oﬃce.

■ Insurance tax (premium)
The National Health Insurance premiums (taxes)
provide a precious fund resource for the NHI system.
If you don't pay the tax, you may have to pay the fullexpense for your medical care. If you have been staying

4. About three months after the application
you will be reimbursed for 35 percent of theamount you paid at the medical institution.
For more information, contact the international
student section of your school or university.

in Japan for less than a year, you are required to pay

For more information about the National Healththe minimum tax because you don't have income inInsurance, contact the National Health Insurance

Japan. From your second year in Japan your payment& Pension Division (Kokuho Nenkin-ka ) at

amount depends on your income. If you are between

019-626-7527 (in Japanese only), or visit the40 and 64 years old, you need to add the nursing-caredivisionʼ s website:

insurance premium.

http://www.city.morioka.iwate.jp/04simin/kokuho/kSome discount or exemption of the tax is available,
depending on your income. If you ﬁnd it diﬃcult topay, go and talk to the National Health Insurance andPension Division of the city oﬃce.
Your payment notice of the NHI tax will be sent toyou from the city oﬃce around the middle of July. Takeokuho/index.html
For more information about the National Health
Insurance system, visit the website of the Council ofLocal Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR):
http://www.clair.or.jp/tagengorev/ja/f/04-3.html