Health Insurance Act

Even before the due date, all insurance premiums may be collected in the following cases:

a person obliged to pay falls under any of the following:

the person receives a disposition of delinquency due to delinquency in payment of national tax, local tax, or other public charges;

compulsory execution is implemented;

notice of a decision to commence bankruptcy proceedings has been given;

the exercise of an enterprise mortgage has begun;

proceedings for the exercise of an enterprise value charge have begun;

an auction has begun;

a corporation obliged to pay is dissolved; or

the office at which an insured person is employed is abolished.

In order to allocate them to expenses required for health insurance services pertaining to specially-insured day laborers (including expenses required for payment of young-old payments, etc., aid for the old-old, etc., long-term care payments, contributions for securing medical care in the early phase of an epidemic, etc., and children and child-rearing support levies; the same applies in Article 175), the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare, beyond collecting insurance premiums pursuant to the provisions of Article 155, collects contributions every fiscal year from health insurance societies established by employers of specially-insured day laborers (hereinafter referred to as "day laborer health societies").

A day laborer health society is obliged to pay the contributions prescribed in the preceding paragraph (hereinafter referred to as "day laborer contributions").

The amount of day laborer contributions collected from a day labor health society pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article is the estimated amount of day laborer contributions for the relevant fiscal year; provided, however, that when the amount of estimated day laborer contributions for the preceding fiscal year exceeds the fixed amount of day laborer contributions in that fiscal year, the amount is the amount obtained by deducting the amount of excess from the amount of estimated day laborer contributions for that year, and when the amount of estimated day laborer contributions for the preceding fiscal year is less than the fixed amount of day laborer contributions in that fiscal year, the amount is the amount obtained by adding that amount of deficit to the amount of estimated day laborer contributions for that year.

The estimated amount of day laborer contributions referred to in the preceding Article is the amount obtained by multiplying the amount calculated as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as the amount obtained by deducting an amount equivalent to insurance premiums relating to specially-insured day laborers in the relevant fiscal year from the prospective amount of expenses required for health insurance services in that fiscal year pertaining to specially-insured day laborers by the rate obtained by dividing the total number of days of payment of insurance premiums relating to specially-insured day laborers paid by the employer who established the day laborer health society in the previous fiscal year by the total number of days of payment of insurance premiums relating to specially-insured day laborers in that fiscal year.

The amount of fixed day laborer contributions referred to in Article 174 is the amount obtained by multiplying the amount calculated as specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare as the amount obtained by deducting an amount equivalent to insurance premiums relating to specially-insured day laborers in the previous fiscal year from the amount of expenses required for health insurance services in the previous fiscal year pertaining to specially-insured day laborers (including expenses required for payment of young-old payments, etc., aid for the old-old, etc., long-term care payments, contributions for securing medical care in the early phase of an epidemic, etc., and children and child-rearing support levies) by the rate obtained by dividing the total number of days of payment of insurance premiums relating to specially-insured day laborers paid in the previous fiscal year by the employer who established the relevant day laborer health society by the total number of days of payment of insurance premiums relating to specially-insured day laborers paid in the previous fiscal year.

Regarding special provisions on the calculation of the amount of day laborer contributions pertaining to a day laborer health society that is incorporated by merger or split, remains after a merger or split, or succeeds to the rights and obligations of a dissolved day laborer health society, the special provisions on the calculation of the amount of young-old subsidies and young-old payments prescribed in Article 41 of the Act on Assurance of Medical Care for Elderly People apply.

Beyond the provisions from Article 173 through the preceding Article, determination of the amount of day laborer contributions, payment methods, due dates, grace periods, and other necessary matters concerning payment of day laborer contributions are specified by Cabinet Order.

An insurer providing national health insurance to a person who has made a request pursuant to Article 3, paragraph (1), item (viii) is deemed to be a health insurance society, and the provisions from Article 173 through the preceding Article apply.

If there is a person who is delinquent in payment of insurance premiums or any other money to be collected by the due date pursuant to the provisions of this Act (hereinafter referred to as "insurance premiums, etc." except in Article 204-2, paragraph (1) and Article 204-6, paragraph (1)) (hereinafter referred to as "person delinquent in payment"), the insurer (meaning JHIA if the person is an insured person with optional and continued coverage under the health insurance program administered by JHIA, if the person is an insured person under the health insurance program administered by JHIA or is a specially-insured day laborer who must pay the money to be collected, pursuant to the provisions of Article 58, Article 74, paragraph (2), and Article 109, paragraph (2) (including cases where these provisions are applied mutatis mutandis to Article 149), or if JHIA succeeded to the rights of a health insurance society that is extinct due to dissolution, pursuant to the provisions of Article 26, paragraph (4) and there are uncollected insurance premiums, etc. of the health insurance society, and a health insurance society if the insured person is under the health insurance program administered by the health insurance society, or otherwise, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare; the same applies hereinafter in this Article and paragraph (1) of the following Article) must demand payment thereof and designate a due date; provided, however, that this does not apply when the insurance premiums are collected pursuant to the provisions of Article 172.

When intending to make a demand pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the insurer issues a written demand to the person obliged to pay.

The time limit specified in the written demand referred to in the preceding paragraph must be a day after the lapse of 10 days or more from the day on which the written demand is issued; provided, however, that this does not apply if any of the items in Article 172 is applicable.

If a person obliged to pay falls under any of the following items, the insurer may effect a disposition as governed by the same rules as the disposition of national tax delinquency, or may request the municipality (including special wards, and a ward or administratively consolidated ward of a city designated under Article 252-19, paragraph (1) of the Local Autonomy Act (Act No. 67 of 1947); the same applies in paragraph (6)) in which the person liable for payment is domiciled or in which the person's assets are located to effect the disposition against the person.

the person who is demanded to pay insurance premiums, etc. pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) does not pay the insurance premiums, etc. demanded by the specified due date; or

the person who received a notice about payment of insurance premiums before the due date due to falling under any of the items of Article 172 fails to pay an insurance premium by the due date.

When JHIA or a health insurance society effects a disposition governed by the same rules as the disposition of national tax delinquency pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, authorized for the disposition must be obtained from the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare.

When receiving a demand to effect a disposition pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (4), a municipality may do so as governed by the same rules as municipal tax. In this case, the insurer must deliver an amount equivalent to 0.04% of the money to be collected to the municipality.

When payment is demanded pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1) of the preceding Article, the insurer collects delinquent charges that are calculated by multiplying the money to be collected by 14.6% per year (if the demand pertains to insurance premiums, 7.3% per year for the period from the day following the due date to the day when three months have elapsed) in accordance with the number of days from the date following the due date of the payment until the date of full payment or the date prior to the date of attachment of property; provided, however, this does not apply in the case of any of the following items or when unavoidable reasons for the delinquency are found:

the amount of money to be collected is less than 1,000 yen;

the money is collected before the due date; or

the demand was made through service by publication since the domicile or residence of the person obliged to pay is located outside Japan or both the domicile and residence are unknown.

In case of the preceding paragraph, when a portion of the amount to be collected is paid, the amount to be collected that is the principal amount for the calculation of the delinquent charges pertaining to the period after the date of the payment is the amount remaining after deducting the amount of the payment from the amount to be collected.

In calculating the delinquent charges, the amount of the money collected is to be rounded down to the nearest 1,000 yen.

No delinquent charges are collected when the money to be collected is paid in full by the due date specified in the demand note, or when the amount calculated pursuant to the provisions of the preceding three paragraphs is less than 100 yen.

The amount of delinquent charges is to be rounded down to the nearest.100 yen.

In order to facilitate smooth operation of the health insurance business that JHIA administers, JHIA is to conduct public relations on the significance and content of the business, while appropriately cooperating with the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare in recommending the payment of insurance premiums and in conducting other affairs pertaining to the collection of insurance premiums.

When discussing with JHIA and finding it necessary for the effective collection of insurance premiums, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may provide information to JHIA on persons delinquent in payment of insurance premiums and other necessary information, and have JHIA collect insurance premiums pertaining to those persons.

When the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare decides to have JHIA collect insurance premiums pertaining to persons delinquent in payment pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the Minister must notify the persons delinquent in payment to the effect that JHIA will collect the insurance premiums and of other matters specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

When JHIA collects insurance premiums pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), JHIA is deemed to be the insurer, and the provisions of Article 180 and Article 181 apply.

When JHIA collects insurance premiums pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (1), an amount equivalent to the collected amount is deemed to have been delivered from the government to JHIA pursuant to the provisions of Article 155-2.

Beyond what is provided for in the preceding paragraphs of this Article, other necessary matters pertaining to the collection of insurance premiums by JHIA are specified by Cabinet Order.

A lien for insurance premiums, etc. is after national tax and local tax in terms of priority.

Insurance premiums, etc. are collected as governed by the same rules as national tax, unless otherwise prescribed by this Act.