Single Payer Health Insurance: My Japanese Experience

[Joanne98]

by ProgressiveTokyo

Single Payer Health Insurance: My Japanese Experience Updated Sat May 23, 2009 at 06:18:30 AM PDT

As the debate about Health Care continues to heat up with the usual suspects from the Health Insurance industry begining their campaign to convince Americans that Universal Health insurance is against their best interests, would decrease quality of care, limit options, increase wait time (as if those under the current system don`t have similar issues)and all the other usual lies they spout hoping to scare a large enough portion of the electorate to dash the hopes of us who want Health Care reform.

I would like to share with you MY experience under a single payer system which we have here in Japan. It is called National Health Care Service or for those of you who can read Japanese: 国民健康保険

ProgressiveTokyo's diary :: ::
Of course first I should tell you how it`s paid for before I go into the details of how it works.

Every month a certain percentage is deducted from my pay check which includes both my National Health Care and my National Pension. This amount is matched by my employer. While I don`t wish to discuss my finances in detail, I can tell you every month they deduct roughly 40,000 yen (around $385 dollars) by comparison my wife who is a stay at home mom pays roughly 7000 yen (around $65) for her coverage. All children under 15 are covered for free.

Once you are in the National Health Care system you are given a National Health card. It looks like this:

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http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/5/23/734612/-Single-Payer-Health-Insurance:-My-Japanese-Experience-Updated