RetireJapan

Not strictly personal finance,

Today I cut my leg quite deeply on a protruding piece of cut glass when I was putting out the rubbish, it looked quite deep so after my wife put some temporary bandages on it, I took myself to the local A & E which is only half a mile away. It was quite early in the morning, so I was seen to immediately by the attending nurse after I had shown my health insurance card to the receptionist. It was dealt with typical Japanese efficiency and after been taken for an X-ray, which I don't think was absolutely necessary....,but before long, the doctor had me under a local anaesthetic and was sewing up the stitches, when one of the office ladies came to my bedside asking for me to show her zairyu card and she would like a copy of it.

At that time, I was thinking should I push back at this request, I have been living in Japan for 25 years now and have never been asked to show my zairyu card at a hospital, I had after all shown my national health insurance card. Not only that I had had a hernia operation at the same public hospital five years ago and was not asked then. Now, I am no Debito Arudou, but in the past I have pushed back against hotel reception staff who have asked to see my zairyu card, much to the embarrassment of my daughter when we were staying at business hotel for a basketball camp this summer holidays.

When the office lady asked, I was being sewn up by the doctor under a local anaesthetic, I asked her, why and I had already shown her my national health insurance card, she replied it needs to be done, I did not want to push it that far, given my physical incapacitation at that time, so I submitted to her request, but then she follows it up that she wants to see it now, and where is it, I responded it's in my wallet. She didn't really ask for permission to go into my wallet, takes it out and goes off and photocopies it.

Now, of course I am really happy I was seen promptly at a big A & E hospital, I was in an out within two hours. I could very easily imagine in my home country's A & E hospital I could have been there for most of the day but given I have been quite literally hundreds of times to Japanese hospitals mostly with my kids and never been asked for this before, plus the office lady going into wallet when I was incapacitated, really did aggravate me and why I am posting now.

That would piss me off too. I think she has overstepped the mark, if she went into your wallet.
I would be inclined to ask to speak to a manager at the hospital, personally.

I’ve never needed to show zairyu card at hospital or any medical facility. I don’t think there is any reason they can demand it. I guess it is too late now though.

Oooof. That has never happened to me*, but it would annoy the hell out of me and I most likely would not comply.

I think I know why it might have happened though.

A few years ago there was some scaremongering about foreign residents and visitors taking advantage of Japanese healthcare. There were news stories about it and it was discussed in the Diet.

As a result, guidelines were brought in where hospitals might check ID for foreign residents to make sure they were using their own health insurance cards and not someone else's (although given how often it shows up in novels, manga, and TV shows, I suspect it is far more common for Japanese people to borrow someone's insurance card). This was 'necessary' because health insurance cards don't have photos on them. I'm guessing this is what your pushy lady was worried about. Presumably the hospital has implemented the guidelines but the reception staff were not aware or forgot about it.

I'm pretty sure you just need to show photo ID though, not necessarily a zairyu card, and they just need to see it, not take a copy.

Now that My Number cards are increasingly being used as health insurance documents, I suspect this issue will then go away.

* one reason I might not have run into this is that my health insurance card is in kanji (my alias). Hence it doesn't look at all 'foreign'. Ironically I will lose this benefit soon because my My Number card has my passport name in romaji as well as my kanji alias...

I am guessing your hospital is using similar guidance as this hospital.

https://www.tmhp.jp/hiroo/en/non-japanese-eng.html

Please note that our hospital asks any non-Japanese patients to present a photo ID (Residence card, Passport or equivalent) and makes a photocopy of the ID for the following reasons:

1) For identify verification purposes because a Japanese NHI card does not contain a photo of its holder.

- it would be nice if they required Japanese nationals to provide ID too.

2) To prevent wrong patient errors. If a patient is misidentified and given wrong treatment based on different blood type, past allergies and other wrong information, this error can result in serious consequences.

- didn’t know our zairyu card has our blood type on it? Also again, same “errors” could occur with Japanese nationals too. But where is their request for ID?

3) As a medical institute accredited by Japan Medical Service Accreditation for International Patients, our hospital is to conduct a servey of non-Japanese patient's nationality and first language, and make a report to the related organisation.

- so we have to compromise our data, and get treated differently to Japanese nationals, for a survey which we don’t even get to choose if we want to be a part of the survey or not?

4) Japan Immigration Bureau and the Police have advised us to check the validity of residence status of non-Japanese patients because borrowing and lending a Japanese NHI card between these patients have been reported multiple times. Borrowing and lending a Japanese NHI card is strictly prohibited.

- and there is it is. I’m not going to dispute, that there are likely foreigners sharing health insurance cards. But Japanese do it too. But only foreigners who get the blame.

No issues with hospitals doing due diligence. But they should be doing due diligence on every patient. Not just the foreign patients. Instead it seems hospitals are now doing the police and immigration’s job for them

Ironically my health insurance card is my only ID that's in katakana (good old 全国健康保険協会). So no amount of photo ID is going to verify it

TunaSki wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 2:53 pm I am guessing your hospital is using similar guidance as this hospital.

https://www.tmhp.jp/hiroo/en/non-japanese-eng.html

This one says it a bit better:

https://toranomon.kkr.or.jp/cms/global/index.html wrote: Confirmation of these documents is required because, as a medical institution certified to accept foreign patients, we are required to report on each patient's nationality and language in order to prevent accidents caused by mistaken identity during medical examinations and tests.

This article irked me recently:

https://www.asahi.com/sp/ajw/articles/15358513

Apparently 30 foreign ER patients at a certain hospital failed to pay. Out of over 2000 patients, so a rate of at worst 1.5%, with no indication if this is high, low or middling compared to the general populace.

Later on, the article confides that 1.4% of all outstanding medical bills in Japan are owed by foreigners. As I believe we comprise more than that as a percentage of the population, perhaps the real story is that Japanese pay their bills less reliably than foreigners?

One of these articles that I struggled to see the point of, besides trying to keep the anti foreign tourist media bandwagon rolling on.

beanhead wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 12:43 pm That would piss me off too. I think she has overstepped the mark, if she went into your wallet.
I would be inclined to ask to speak to a manager at the hospital, personally.

I was more pissed off about this then her actually asking, and the fact I she could have waited until the Doctor had finished sewing up my stiches.

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 1:00 pm Oooof. That has never happened to me*, but it would annoy the hell out of me and I most likely would not comply.

I think I know why it might have happened though.

A few years ago there was some scaremongering about foreign residents and visitors taking advantage of Japanese healthcare. There were news stories about it and it was discussed in the Diet.

As a result, guidelines were brought in where hospitals might check ID for foreign residents to make sure they were using their own health insurance cards and not someone else's (although given how often it shows up in novels, manga, and TV shows, I suspect it is far more common for Japanese people to borrow someone's insurance card). This was 'necessary' because health insurance cards don't have photos on them. I'm guessing this is what your pushy lady was worried about. Presumably the hospital has implemented the guidelines but the reception staff were not aware or forgot about it.

I'm pretty sure you just need to show photo ID though, not necessarily a zairyu card, and they just need to see it, not take a copy.

Now that My Number cards are increasingly being used as health insurance documents, I suspect this issue will then go away.

* one reason I might not have run into this is that my health insurance card is in kanji (my alias). Hence it doesn't look at all 'foreign'. Ironically I will lose this benefit soon because my My Number card has my passport name in romaji as well as my kanji alias...

I am actually thinking about what would have happened if I would have shown my 'My number' card to her, since I have had the health insurance added to it my card. I am so used to showing my health insurance card that I just showed that.

Deep Blue wrote: ↑Tue Aug 20, 2024 12:57 pm I’ve never needed to show zairyu card at hospital or any medical facility. I don’t think there is any reason they can demand it. I guess it is too late now though.

The keyboard warrior inside me made me want to sort out fellow long-term non-residents' experiences and opinions about this. I am actually going back today for a follow up examination with the Doctor, should I take it further hmmm....