Taiwan Flashcards
System
99% coverage through the government’s NHI system. Private coverage exists but can’t cover services the NHI provides. They use PI for private beds, or to fill in small coverage gaps
Covers all citizens automatically at birth, or for those who come to the country and don’t sign up, as soon as they go to a health care provider they are enrolled; and foreigners who live there more than 6 months.
Very comprehensive- covers inpatient, outpatient, prescription, mental health care, but unusually it also covers dental and vision. Doesn’t cover abortion and birth control
Long term care
In 2017, Taiwan launched its long term care plan called Long term care 2.0 the goal is to help seniors age in place. It subsidizes the needs of people with disabilities, dementia or the frail elderly. The benefits aren’t generous, because in Taiwan they believe it’s rally the families job. So families pay for most of it, and end up hiring foreign care workers for a cheap rate
Financing
6% of GDP. $1500 per person. Paid for by premiums (which comes from payroll taxes and government subsidies); and taxes on tobacco and lottery fees. The typical family of 4 pays $100 a month (2% of household income) on premiums
Cost sharing
Inpatient out of pocket max is 10% of income per year or 6% of national income per episode.
EHR innovation
It’s known for being innovative in this regard. Each patient has a card that includes personal info such as address and insurance billing #.
Providers get medical records through these, and the health ministry uses these cards to track utilization of services and to give public health authorities info on disease outbreaks and epidemics
Prescription drugs
$7 co pay max. Physicians can prescribe what they like, but since the EHR’s are monitored, if a doctor is prescribing too much, the government contacts them and tells them to chill
Doctor choice
Free choice of doctor and hospital and can order their own tests
Challenges
Doctors tend to get burned out because they’re seeing 50-100 patients daily, and work into the night.
Patients with cancer have to wait a little long for their new therapies to be approved
Life expectancy
81
