Best approach to health insurance
Hello all!
I have lurked on this list off and on for some time and have enjoyed and
learned a lot!
I have been living in Japan for quite a while, and through some work
circumstances, have not been part of Japanese National Health Insurance for
quite a while. I am now eligible to join. Recently, a Japanese friend was
forced to go freelance, and will therefore lose their company health
insurance, and is contemplating joining as well.
I have very little knowledge on what reliable private schemes are available
here. So, I wanted to tap into your cumulative experience to ask if there is
any advantage to joining JNHI, rather than looking for a private scheme. Or,
whether a private scheme would be better? And, if so, do you have any
recommendations for a reliable vendor?
I have difficulty with the notion of having my health insurance premiums
connected to my income - it makes more sense for them to be connected to my
state of health (and, to some extent, my age). My friend is still young, so
I am guessing they may also get a better deal out of it, if they intend on
trying to increase their income as much as possible as they work for
themselves. For me, I would have to do a more specific comparison to make
the final decision. But, any recommendations for a private scheme would be
very much appreciated!
I also recall stories of people who found JNHI expensive, but then found
that the could not get out of the system even if they wanted too. So, I
would like to explore all options before taking on JNHI, if it is still the
"sticky" system it was purported to be in the past.
I would be very grateful on your insights and recommendations on this!
Thanks in advance!
Victor Shkawrytko
Tokyo, Japan
Fnews-brouse 1.9(20180406) -- by Mizuno, MWE <mwe@ccsf.jp>
GnuPG Key ID = ECC8A735
GnuPG Key fingerprint = 9BE6 B9E9 55A5 A499 CD51 946E 9BDC 7870 ECC8 A735