The Japanese government has initiated a survey on public health insurance usage by foreign residents living in the country. Some lawmakers had raised concerns that people may come in from overseas to take advantage of the support for expensive medical treatment.
It is the first time that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is conducting a study into the actual state of insurance premiums paid by foreigners living in Japan and details of the benefits they receive, the findings of the survey are to be released by this summer.
The ministry may also consider whether there is a need to review the system based on the outcome of the survey.
In Japan, all residents must enrol in a public health insurance programme and pay premiums.
Foreigners registered as residents and staying in the country for over three months are required to enrol in the National Health Insurance programme.
This programme, among other benefits, enables the refunding of medical expenses that exceed an individual’s limit in a single month. The ceiling varies depending on age and income.
According to the data provided by the ministry in the fiscal year up to March 2024, around 970,000 foreign nationals were enrolled in the National Health Insurance programme, representing 4% of the total.
From March 2023 to February 2024 the government had reimbursed JPY980.3bn ($6.85bn) to those who exceeded their monthly cap of medical costs, of which JPY11.8bn or 1.21% of the total went to the foreigners.
A health ministry official has said the amount reimbursed to the foreigners cannot be said to be high when compared with the proportion of foreigners enrolled.