A body that has as its members insured persons engaged in the same kind of business or work, or any other similar body, specified by Cabinet Order, that the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare designates, on the application of that body, as one found capable of properly and reliably performing the affairs under the following paragraph (hereinafter in this Article referred to as a "premium payment verification organisation"), may perform the affairs under that paragraph.
A premium payment verification organisation is to perform the affairs of ascertaining, upon entrustment from an insured person who is a member of that organisation or another similarly situated person, whether or not the premiums pertaining to that insured person have been paid by the due date for payment (referred to as the "fact of premium arrears" in the following paragraph), and notifying the insured person of the result.
The Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may, in response to a request from a premium payment verification organisation, provide information concerning the fact of premium arrears to the extent necessary for the premium payment verification organisation to properly perform the affairs under the preceding paragraph.
If the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare finds that a premium payment verification organisation has neglected to process the affairs it is to perform, or that its processing is significantly improper, the Minister may order the premium payment verification organisation to take the measures necessary for improvement.
厚生労働大臣は、保険料納付確認団体がその行うべき業務の処理を怠り、又はその処理が著しく不当であると認めるときは、保険料納付確認団体に対し、その改善に必要な措置を採るべきことを命ずることができる。
If a premium payment verification organisation violates an order under the preceding paragraph, the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare may rescind the designation under paragraph (1).
An officer or employee of a premium payment verification organisation, or a person who formerly held such a position, must not, without justifiable grounds, divulge any secret that has come to their knowledge in connection with the affairs under paragraph (2).
The procedure for the designation under paragraph (1) and other matters necessary in connection with a premium payment verification organisation are specified by Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.