Cash back for giving birth in Japan

Last month, I wrote a blog post about the cost of giving birth in Japan – which for us, was just over JPY1m or GBP7,175.

An eye-watering credit card bill following a traumatic birth experience had left me a bit dazed and confused. Wasn’t this supposed to be the happiest time of our lives?!

Well, just as our baby reached her four month birthday – after a significant amount of homework and form-filling – we were finally reimbursed for a large chunk of the delivery fees.

Here’s a simple overview of the sums . . .

November 2016

Birth / delivery fees = JPY865,000

JPY420,000 covered by Minato City’s’National Health Insurance’ upon being discharged from hospital
(“Childbirth and childcare lump-sum grant”)
JPY465,000 charged on my credit card to Nisseki Hospital

March 2017

Reimbursements = JPY343,000*

JPY175,000 from Minato City, via the Foreign Transportation & Finance Health Insurance Association
(“Childbirth and childcare additional benefit”)
JPY168,000 from the Foreign Transportation & Finance Health Insurance Association
(“Reimbursement system for high-cost medical care”)

So the mammoth JPY865,000 delivery bill minus refunds, now looks more like JPY122,000.

*The reimbursements were paid to my employer, who then transferred the cash to me.

Tax-deductible medical expenses

Since the expenses related to having our baby still exceed JPY100,000 (JPY334,884 to be exact, including delivery fees, pre- and post-natal appointment costs, and optional care), we’re able to file for an additional reimbursement from the tax office, under the heading of “excessive medical expenditures”. This is currently in progress.

All in all, not quite as bad as we’d thought at first . . .

The lesson

Giving birth in Japan will cost you on average JPY450,000 (GBP3,229). Even when reimbursements are guaranteed, you can expect cash-flow issues for a few months.

Securing reimbursements involves a lot of cumbersome paperwork and cross-checks for you and your company. It seems impossible to apply for reimbursements as an individual (particularly if you are unable to read and / or write Japanese).

Be sure to speak in detail with your HR team regarding the refunds you are entitled to before taking maternity leave, to ensure a speedier reimbursement process. You have up to two years to claim cash back.

Is this similar to your birth story in Japan? I’d love to compare notes . . .

3Comments

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1

koucha1 on April 10, 2017 at 4:06 pm

This is a very interesting read. I live in the north of Japan in a small city. I just gave birth, three days of induction treatment plus the mandatory 7 days six nights stay at a local family practice maternity hospital cost 49man yen in total. 42 man was covered by national health insurance so it cost just 7 man, about 500 uk pounds. Each visit to see the doctor cost between 500-200u0 yen on top of the vouchers i was given when i registered the pregnancy along with my Boshi Techo. I have an insurance policy with large well known company that would pay out if i had to have any surgery, for example a c- section. As it was it was a natural birth so i wasn’t eligible to claim anything extra back.

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  loriinjapan on April 11, 2017 at 7:48 am
  
  Congratulations on the birth of your little one! It’s so interesting to exchange notes.
  
  The cost of giving birth in Japan really does seem to depend on geography. The going rate for a straightforward natural birth in the five “international” hospitals in Minato-ku, starts at JPY600,000.
  
  Taking into account the national health service reimbursement (JPY420,000) and Minato-ku’s top-up (JPY175,000), it seems that residents in our ward are rather lucky.
  
  All in all, would you say your birth-related medical expenses total around JPY100,000?
  
  Thank you for sharing your story!
  
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koucha1 on April 13, 2017 at 6:48 am

Yes, around 100,000. I would say half of the amount was the cost of the unexpected three days induction, procedures and treatment. According to the clinic in the case of a natural birth with no complications the 420,000 would cover the birth and hospital stay entirely. It’s my pleasure to share, i hope sharing my experience can help someone.

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