It's been a busy month lately
– between after school work, cramming for the JLPT, and writing a whopping six articles with my freelance job, it's been hectic! On top of this I've been dealing with health issues. In only four weeks I managed to go to the doctor five times and the hospital four times! Having health issues in a foreign country is definitely a stressful ordeal, no matter what ailment, but ongoing troubles without any known cause is the pits!
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| Japanese health insurance. |
Let me give you a little background on healthcare in Japan. This isn't my first time making liberal use of my health insurance, so I'm pretty familiar with how things run. Japan has universal healthcare, which you must enroll in by visiting your local city hall. It's around $200 US dollars a month, but the actual amount you pay at doctor's offices is very affordable. The only thing that has costed me more than $30 dollars (teeth cleaning) was my first visit to the hospital, a whopping $75 bucks! I have had to shell out more for a CT scan and recently my first MRI, but they were both under $70 dollars. There is no standardized co-pay here, which makes for a much less stressful doctor's visit, which is probably why they are so busy.
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| Everyone in Japan during health check season. |
