Japan Press Weekly

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2008 October 29 - November 4 [WELFARE]

More than 30,000 children living without health insurance

Nearly 33,000 children in Japan are without health insurance because their national health insurance cards were invalidated after their parents were found to be in arrears on the payment of premiums, the Health Ministry said.

According to the ministry’s survey, as of September 15, about 3.85 million households, or 18.5 percent of all insured households, are in arrear with their national health insurance premiums payments. Among them, about 330,000 households have had their health insurance cards invalidated and have been issued temporary certificates.

Local municipalities invalidate health insurance cards and provide certificates if they recognize the holders as failing to pay the premiums for more than one year without “reasons.” Those who are issued the certificate are required to pay the full amount of medical expenses at hospitals.

The Health Ministry also surveyed how municipalities make contacts with those who are behind with premiums. 88 percent of municipalities answered that they send a letter of reminder, and 22~26 percent said they make a phone call or visit houses on weekends.

Japanese Communist Party House of Councilors member Koike Akira issued the following comment on the survey.

At a Diet session in March last year, I spoke about the case of a family whose health insurance card was invalidated although they have a child suffering from bronchial asthma.

Then Prime Minister Abe Shinzo responded that municipalities do not invalidate health insurance cards without explanation and that they are carefully dealing with such cases. However, the latest findings show that municipalities mechanically invalidate health insurance cards of households even with children only after sending a letter of reminder. This is unacceptable.

Invalidation of health insurance cards takes away the people’s right to medical services, which is in violation of their constitutional right to live. Local governments must not invalidate the health insurance cards, whether a household has children or not.

The root cause of the problem is the national health insurance premium which is too high. It is urgently needed to have it lowered by canceling the restraint on an increase in social welfare expenditures that the government imposed in 2002.