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日本語Health Insurance
Joining health insurance program is mandatory when living in Japan for one month or longer. Those who have the employment contract with the University of Tokyo automatically join a welfare program package called Mutual Society of Health Insurance ("Kyosai") run by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology(MEXT) for its employees. The Kyosai is not just a health insurance system but a package of various benefits. You must pay premium from the day of appointment, but as a return begin to receive benefits when you get sick or injury, get married, have baby, are hospitalized, take leave beyond quota, meet a natural disaster, or die.
For those with postdoctoral appointment, which health insurance program you will join varies depending on the source of your salary. Some may join National Health Insurance ("Kokumin", for self-employed or retired people who are not covered by corporate or government insurance programs). In this case, you must make necessary arrangement at the city hall in the area of your residence. IPMU will assist you in this. For details, please consult our office.
For the MEXT Kyosai, the insurance premium is equally split between the employee and the employer. Your share, which is 2.947% of your salary, is deducted from your monthly salary, together with an additional 0.416% of your salary for "elderly assistance" (if you are older than 40) as "short-term premium".
For Kokumin, your premium depends on your previous year's income. Please inquire at the city hall for more details.
Both MEXT Kyosai and Kokumin cover 70% of the medical and dental cost including prescribed medications, and the remaining 30% is borne by the patient. This share is also 30% for your dependent family members.
It may sound high, but you should note that the medical costs in Japan are relatively low as long as you receive standard treatments. According to a study by the AIU insurance company in 2005, an appendicitis operation costs 2 million yen in New York, 0.9 million yen in Paris, and 0.4 million yen in Tokyo. The MEXT Kyosai also has a subsidizing program for excessive medical cost. A part of your medical payment will be returned to you if your total medical cost within a same month exceeds a certain amount. This amount depends on your income, but it is safe to assume that the maximum payment in one month per incident will not exceed 150,000 yen as long as you receive standard treatment.
A health insurance card will be issued to you when you join MEXT Kyosai or Kokumin. Do not forget to bring it with you whenever you visit a hospital or doctor's office. Note that normal pregnancy and childbirth, health examinations, the use of private hospital rooms, are not covered by these insurance programs. There are also some rules on the types of treatments that are covered. For instance, metal crowns of the teeth are covered, but aesthetically appealing crowns with natural tooth colors are not. If the treatment you seek is not covered by the insurance, you will be informed before the treatment is begun.
You can request reimbursement from Kyosai or Kokumin health insurance systems for the medical expenses that you paid while traveling abroad. However, the amount is based on the standard in Japan, so that you should expect that actual amount you receive is less than full amount in most cases. Bring the following forms to the IPMU office for Kyosai or directly to the City Hall for Kokumin: Medical expense reimbursement request, Attending Physician's Statement (should be completed and signed by the attending physician, need separate form for dental treatment), Itemized Receipt (should be completed and signed by either the attending physician or the superintendent of hospital/clinic), Receipt (issued by local hospital/clinic, attach Japanese translation), and Request for deposit to your bank account. You can obtain the Attending Physician's Statement and Itemized Receipt at the IPMU office prior to your departure. They are written in both English and Japanese so that they can be completed by attending physicians. If, however, only documents issued by the local hospital/clinic are available, attach the Japanese translations. You must bear the cost of any additional coverage by private insurance. Note that some credit company offer health insurance coverage for your foreign travel.
You may consult the Social Insurance Agency website.