I have returned to the Japanese health insurance system 国民健康保険. As expected I had to pay back two years to get back in. I have to pay these two years all at once end of October. Has anybody had experience of asking for these two year payments to be paid over a longer period to make it a little digestible?
Any advice or experience appreciated.
3 comments
Wait, so you were on 社会保険before and are no switching to 国民健康保険? Did you not pay for two years or something ?
I was in this situation a few years back, and I went to the ward office to discuss it with them. I explained that it would be hard for me to pay it all at once, and they discussed with me how much I could pay each month (on top of the regular monthly health insurance payment) and we came to an agreement. I ended up paying it back over about a year and a half. They were pretty understanding (I’m sure it’s something they deal with often) so it’s a good idea to go and talk to them.
Returned to NHI from what? Company? Just not paying at all? If you were on company you don’t owe anything, so I can only assume you just ignored payments for years before company or just entirely and now you need NHI again. Not good. The only thing you can do is go and ask and give an explanation. They’re not the boogeyman but if you just straight up ignored your obligations don’t be surprised if they’re not super lenient.