Taiwan höjer sjukförsäkringspremier

Premierna för Taiwans sjukförsäkringssystem NHI (National Health Insurance) kommer att höjas från och med den 1 april i år. Det är andra gången som premierna höjs sedan systemet infördes för 15 år sedan.

Det landsomfattande systemet, som även innefattar tandvård, är billigt i drift men har ändå lyckats att hålla de administrativa kostnaderna under två procent av de totala utgifterna.

PRESS RELEASE

Government Information Office, Taiwan
March 26, 2010

Taiwan to raise health insurance premiums for the second time in 15 years

Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) premium rate will be raised by 0.62 percentage points starting April 1, as a response to rising costs associated with an aging population and the importation of new drugs. This move marks the second rate hike since the program’s inception 15 years ago.

The NHI, a type of social insurance system, was launched in 1995 to provide comprehensive health care to every person in Taiwan regardless of income. All citizens of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and foreign nationals with residency permits are eligible under the program. The NHI currently covers 99 percent of ROC nationals, with citizens living overseas accounting for the remaining 1 percent.

Since the program began, the NHI has become the envy of many countries for its low premiums, extensive benefits coverage, low operating costs and barrier-free medical access. Taiwan’s NHI covers not only outpatient and inpatient care, but also dental services, which are only offered conditionally in many countries. In addition, the NHI continues to expand coverage to include more treatments and new drugs each year, offering an extensive range of benefits as compared with other countries that operate universal health care.

Because NHI operating expenses are paid out of government funds, they are managed with extreme discretion. Since its inception, NHI administrative costs have been kept to less than 2 percent of total medical care costs, far lower than the 2.7 percent of Canada and the 7.3 percent of the United States.

As an indication of convenient access to medical services, 92 out of 100 medical institutions in Taiwan have contracts with NHI. With the exception of organ transplants, waiting lists are virtually non-existent for patients seeking health care.

Ever since Taiwan implemented a global budget payment system in July 2002, NHI medical costs have been controlled to about 5 percent growth per year, much slower than those of most other countries. Compared with countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Taiwan’s NHI provides complete medical care at an extremely low expense of only US$982 per person per year—a mere 15 percent of that in the U.S. and 33 percent of Japan. Furthermore, total health care expenses accounted for no more than 6.1 percent of Taiwan’s gross domestic product, much less than most other health care systems. According to a 2009 survey conducted by the Department of Health, as much as 82.9 percent of the people in Taiwan expressed satisfaction with the NHI program.

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