Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
Really? Almost all non-Japanese living in Japan have special health concerns? Can we get some data on that?
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I`m pretty sure I read that article somewhere - the concerns were more along the lines of wanting to ask their doctor something but the international clinics that spoke English weren`t covered by the national insurance so they just had to go on being concerned or pay for a visit.
As far as I know, residents have ALWAYS been required to enroll in the national health care system. I HAD to be registered 10 years ago, so the only thing that has changed is streamlining the system so that you can`t skirt around the rules and not register - something that was and still is illegal, by the way.
People are panicking now because as you had to be on the insurance all along, if you`ve been here years and years
dodging that law you have a bunch of back payments due... Which are going to appear now that the system is connected with that of your visa on a national level. The law there hasn`t changed. If you`d enrolled as you were legally required to do in the first place you wouldn`t have any back payments.
I`ve never heard of an "expatriate health insurance plan" that kicked you off because you also joined a mandatory health plan in another country.
I get the feeling that this Free Choice Foundation has just been told by someone that things are terrible without actually doing research on their own.