Medical care insurance available after leaving your employer

Remaining a member of the Society

While you will lose your eligibility as an insured person under the health insurance system the day after you leave your employer, a system is available whereby you can remain an insured person under the Health Insurance Society if you meet certain conditions. This is known as the system for Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Persons.

Who can become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person

To become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person, you must meet all of the following conditions:

• You must have lost your eligibility as an insured person under the health insurance system for specific reasons: for example, you left your employer.
• You must have been an insured person for at least two consecutive months prior to the date you lost your eligibility.
• You must apply to become a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person within 20 days after the date on which you lost your eligibility.

How long you can be a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person?

You can be a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person for up to two years.
* Since you must join the Medical Care System for the Advanced Elderly when you reach the age of 75, you will lose your eligibility as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person at that point, even if two years have yet to pass.

Insurance premiums you are required to pay

• ■Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Persons must pay the full amount of insurance premiums. The Company will no longer pay the employer’s portion. As was the case during employment, insurance premiums will continue to be calculated by multiplying the standard monthly remuneration by the insurance premium rate.
• ■Insurance premiums are paid on a monthly basis. They cannot be prorated per day.
• ■Insurance premiums will apply from the time you join the Society.
  * Even if you obtained eligibility as an insured person on the last day of the month, one month’s premiums will be collected for the month you joined the Society.
• ■Note that paid premiums will not be refunded (returned), except in cases involving death or starting a new job.
• ■If you lose your eligibility in the same month in which you joined the Voluntarily and Continuously Insured scheme, meaning you lose eligibility before the end of the month, insurance premiums for the whole month will be collected because they apply at the time you joined the scheme. Premiums paid will not be refunded (returned).

• For those aged 40-64, long-term care insurance premiums will be collected in the same way as general insurance premiums.
• Once you reach the age of 65, the premiums will be collected directly by the municipality in which you are registered as a resident.

Standard monthly remuneration

The standard remuneration used as the basis for calculating your insurance premiums is the lower of the following: (1) your standard monthly remuneration when you lost your eligibility; (2) the average standard monthly remuneration of all insured persons who are members of the Health Insurance Society at the end of September of the previous year.
* As specified in the statutes of the Health Insurance Society, standard remuneration may be calculated based on (1) above, even if (1) is higher than (2).

Insurance premium rates are decided in the meeting of the Society Committee held each year in February. You will be notified of premium rates in March of each year.

参考リンク

• Monthly insurance premium table

• * Since each month’s insurance premiums are collected in the following month, two months’ premiums may be collected during the month in which an individual leaves the Company.
  If insurance premiums in the month of leaving the Company are twice the amount in the previous month, check one month’s premium amount.

About payment of insurance premium

When applying for the bank remittance, you may choose advance lump-sum payment (for the entire fiscal year, at a discount), monthly payment, or monthly direct debit.

• * You cannot change the payment method after you make your choice. Please choose the method that best suits your circumstances after confirming the following:

■Advance lump-sum payment (for the entire fiscal year)
Remit the total amount of premiums for the entire fiscal year (from the month after the month you join the Society through the following March) to the Health Insurance Society’s designated bank account.
[Deadline for payment] Refer to the notice sent by the Health Insurance Society for the payment deadline.

• * After your first payment, you will be notified of the premiums for the following fiscal year in early March of the next year.
  If you are not informed of your insurance premiums by mid-March, contact the Health Insurance Society immediately.

■Monthly payment
Remit the insurance premium for the current month to the Health Insurance Society’s designated bank account by the 10th of the month (or the following business day if the 10th is a bank holiday).
[Deadline for first payment] Refer to the notice sent by the Health Insurance Society for the payment deadline.
[Deadline for second and subsequent payments] Remit payment from the bank counter, ATM, etc. by the 10th of each month.

■Direct debit (monthly payment)
The insurance premium + 192 yen (fees) will be debited on the 27th of each month (or the following business day if the 27th is a bank holiday).
Since it takes three months to complete direct debit procedures, please remit the first premium and two months’ premiums to the Health Insurance Society’s designated bank account.
Example: If you joined the Society in April
   Remit the April (first) premium and premiums for May and June to the Health Insurance Society’s designated bank account by the payment deadline.
   Automatic direct debiting from your account will start on June 27, for the July premium.

You will be sent an application for direct debit/automatic transfer. Provide the necessary information, affix your seal, and submit to the Health Insurance Society.

• * Even if you apply to pay by direct debit, if you fail to pay three months’ premiums by the deadline, you will be ineligible for direct debit. Remember to pay the premiums by the deadline.
• * If direct debiting is not possible due to insufficient funds, etc., you must remit payment by the 10th of the following month. Note that no payment reminder will be issued.

[Other information on insurance premiums]
If you need documentation certifying the amount of insurance premiums you paid, contact the Health Insurance Society by telephone to have a proof of payment mailed to you.

Details of insurance benefits

Although you will not receive Maternity Allowance or Injury and Sickness Allowance, you will receive all other statutory benefits and additional benefits in the same way as you did when you were with your employer.
* If you are eligible to receive benefits even after loss of eligibility, you will be paid Maternity Allowance or Injury and Sickness Allowance as well.

Loss of eligibility as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person

You will lose your eligibility as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person on the following day (the same day in cases 4 and 5) in any of the following cases:

• Two years have passed since the date you became an insured person.
• Upon your death
• You do not pay your insurance premiums by the date due.
• You begin employment and become an insured person under another health insurance or similar program.
• You join the Medical Care System for the Advanced Elderly as an insured person, etc.
• If you applied to have your status as a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person cleared, the last day of the month including the date on which the application was received

* After loss of eligibility, please return your health insurance card.

• In the case described under 5, a Notification of Loss of Eligibility will be sent by post after the ending date.
• In the case described under 3, the date of loss of eligibility will be the day after the deadline for payment.
  A Certificate of Loss of Eligibility will be sent by post after the date of loss of eligibility.
• 2. In the case described under 4, submit the Notification of Loss of Eligibility As a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person.

Schedule through receipt of your health insurance card

• Following the receipt of your application by the Health Insurance Society, an insurance premium payment notice will be sent to your home address by post as soon as notice of loss of eligibility has been received from the Company.
• Remit payment of your insurance premiums by the deadline, from a financial institution.
• After the Society has confirmed payment of the premiums, your health insurance card will be sent to your home address by registered mail.

• * If you make use of a medical care institution before you receive your health insurance card, inform the institution that you have applied for the Voluntarily and Continuously Insured scheme and follow the instructions given by the institution.

If you become a nonresident due to residence overseas or other reasons

You may be eligible to be a Voluntarily and Continuously Insured Person even if you become a nonresident because you reside overseas after leaving the Company. However, note the following restrictions:

• Your health insurance card and other related documents may not be sent overseas.
  You must specify a contact address in Japan.
• Except when paying your insurance premiums in advance or through direct debit, you must remit payment to the Shiseido Health Insurance Society’s account in Japan by the 10th of each month (or the following business day if the 10th is a bank holiday).
• Your health insurance card cannot be used overseas.
  In addition, you cannot, in principle, claim Overseas Medical Care Expenses, since medical care costs are not considered as unavoidable expenses for treatment undergone overseas during travel or while working overseas.