Public opposition grows over My Number and health insurance merger

TOKYO, Jun 21 (Japan Times) - As errors and privacy breaches involving the linkage of My Number and health insurance cards continue to surface, public opposition is growing over the government’s decision to halt the use of current health insurance cards in the fall of 2024.

Parliament enacted a law on June 2 to scrap health insurance cards, with these to be exchanged for a version of the My Number card that also integrates a person’s health insurance information. The integration has been an option since October 2021, but the government’s plan means that all residents will be required to obtain one by fall 2024.

The government is rushing to meet the deadline that it has set for itself, but the transition has so far been far from smooth.

The health ministry has reported that, between October 2021 and November 2022, there were 7,312 cases where someone else’s personal information was tied to another individual’s My Number card.

According to the Japanese Medical and Dental Practitioners for the Improvement of Medical Care, there have been at least 776 cases across 38 prefectures where patients were asked to pay 100% of the fees at the hospital despite having insurance coverage, because their data did not show up on the new scanning system for combined My Number and health insurance cards. ...continue reading

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