The government has stopped issuing new health insurance card as of December 2, 2024, to officially start the use of individual number card (“My Number card”) as health insurance certificate. For the time being, insured individuals may use a conventional health insurance card, newly issued health insurance eligibility certificate or a health insurance eligibility notice that can be shown when they cannot use My Number card as health insurance certificate. Conventional health insurance cards will no longer be issued, but reissuance of an eligibility certificate or eligibility notice is possible. This article explains the procedure.
[1] Reissuance of eligibility certificate
People who do not have a My Number card or have not registered their My Number card to use as health insurance certificate will receive a health insurance eligibility certificate. By showing the certificate at a hospital or clinic, they can receive medical services covered by the insurance. If they lose or damage the certificate, they can have the certificate reissued by submitting a designated form. If a lost certificate is found, the old one must be returned to a prefectural branch of the Japan Health Insurance Association (Kyokai Kenpo.)
[2] Reissuance of eligibility notice
The health insurance eligibility notice includes information about the person’s health insurance details. The notice will be issued to all individuals who were covered by health insurance as of December 2, 2024, and their dependent family members. If they have trouble using their My Number card as health certificate, they can receive treatment under the insurance system by showing the notice and the My Number card.
Insured individuals can find the eligibility notice by accessing the “Myna Portal” website. They can also have the notice reissued by submitting a designated form. The notice will not be reissued automatically when their names or other information change. Application for the reissuance is also necessary to receive a notice with the updated information.
The application for the issuance of eligibility notice should be submitted to the Japan Health Insurance Association, which will send the reissued notice directly to the individual. Please note that the notice cannot be used as a health insurance certificate by itself.
In the future, companies are likely to receive inquiries from employees who lost their eligibility certificate or notice. Please check the reissuance procedure in the websites below in advance.
[Reference]
Japan Health Insurance Association, “When the issuance of health insurance eligibility certificate is necessary”
https://www.kyoukaikenpo.or.jp/g3/sb3220/r146/
“When you lost the health insurance eligibility notice”
https://www.kyoukaikenpo.or.jp/g3/sb3220/r145/
The information is based on laws and regulations as of the date of this article.
