Photo/Illutration A card reader set up at the reception desk of a hospital (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The health ministry on Dec. 2 discontinued traditional health insurance cards to integrate their functions into My Number Cards, the new identification cards that have not caught on with the public.

The usage rate of My Number Card as “maina hokensho” health insurance card remains low, largely because of distrust of the system plagued by information leaks and errors.

Maina hokensho can be used at hospitals and other facilities in the same way as a health insurance card.

Although the ministry has now stopped issuing health insurance cards, existing ones can still be used until their expiration dates. And health insurance cards without an expiration date can be used until Dec. 1, 2025.

A notification of eligibility will be sent automatically to those who do not have maina hokensho before the expiration date of their health insurance cards. 

Eligibility notifications will also be sent automatically to those with maina hokensho who will become 75 years old between Dec. 2 and July 31, 2025, and those aged 75 and older who change their eligibility status for public health insurance during the same period.

PLETHORA OF PROBLEMS

Many problems have surfaced regarding maina hokensho.

In May 2023, a maina hokensho was linked to a different individual’s personal information.

The government then checked 160 million pieces of data and confirmed 9,223 incorrect entries of personal information tied to the My Number Card system.

There were also 21,574 cases in which the card holders’ contribution ratios were confirmed incorrect at medical institutions’ counters.

In some of the cases, the patients were initially charged 100 percent of the medical costs.

The government said the data-linkage mistakes were caused by data errors entered by insurers, such as company health insurance associations.

The source of the incorrect contribution ratios was traced to flawed system specifications.

The government has taken countermeasures, such as sending office procedure manuals to insurers to raise their awareness. The government is also introducing systems to regularly check for errors.

However, the usage rate for maina hokensho has not increased significantly.

About 76 million people, or 80 percent of the 94 million maina hokensho holders, have registered their My Number Cards as health insurance cards.

However, they appeared more likely to use the traditional health insurance cards.

The usage rate of maina hokensho as of October this year was only 15.67 percent, up from about 4 percent a year ago.

In August this year, health ministry conducted an online survey of 2,000 My Number Card holders.

The results showed that 39.5 percent of respondents are “concerned about whether their personal information is secure since they have to entrust all of their personal information to the government.”

In addition, 38.4 percent of respondents said they were worried about losing their My Number Cards while they carry them.

The health ministry continues to promote the adoption of maina hokensho on its website: https://www.kojinbango-card.go.jp/en/#emg_5

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