Healthcare payment in taiwan should be increased
According to the National Health Insurance Annual Statistical Report 2018 (2019), the average individual premium for health insurance in Taiwan is NT$38,079, which is roughly US$1200. Compared with other countries, it is really cheap. Many other countries also have their premium much higher than Taiwan’s, with the highest being US$8887 on average in USA. It’s truly lucky to be born in Taiwan to enjoy healthcare with such low price. However, nothing is perfect. This report also shows that the insurance system actually had a significant loss of NT$26 billion the same year. There are several reasons that caused the situation and it is suggested that raising the cost of clinical visits or medicines could be the solution.
One of the reason of increasing the payment is the “doctor shopping” phenomenon. This term describes the behavior of some people that they went to different doctors for the same illness to get more medicines than they need. A research article entitled “Patterns of ambulatory care utilization in Taiwan” (2006) shows that there are 15.3% of people that visited healthcare facilities 7 or more times in 2002. Also, 48.1% would go to another facility after already visiting one within 3 days. These numbers imply that many people are doctor shopping in Taiwan and their actions waste many medical resources. And the reason that they’re able to do this is because the payment is cheap. If a person catches a cold, the only requirement is the registration fee of NT$150 and medicine is completely free. If the payment is increased, then it would really cost people to visit multiple clinics in a short period of time.
(Click on the pictures to see them clearly.)
Another reason for the increase is the aging society in Taiwan. The elderlies tend to be the ones who need healthcare the most. As people grow older, many health issues will occur. Agustin and Chou (2019) stated that those above the age of 50, which made up of 24.99% of the population, consumed more than 55% of the Nation Health Insurance expenditure in 2002 (p. 53). In 2019, the percentage of those above 55 years old are 37.74% and they will use up more. Since the usage of healthcare for the elderlies is large and young people are usually the ones that pay for the premium, increasing the payment could be vital because it not only prevent the insurance system from going bankrupt but also relieves the financial pressure among the younger generation.
However, many people may be unhappy to pay more for medical services. According to the National Health Insurance Annual Report (2020), the satisfaction of the insurance dropped significantly in 2002 and 2005 because the premium increased (p. 80). Politicians will have second thoughts when it comes to increasing payment for the citizens to bear, just like all the other types of insurance system led by the government. But we are already using billions and billions of tax money to fill the gap. Those taxes can be used for a better purpose if only the healthcare payment is increased and the insurance is no longing losing money.
With all these reasons, including stopping the doctor shopping phenomenon, relieving the financial pressure for young people and giving our tax money a better purpose, increasing payment for healthcare should be the solution to the financial loss of our National Health Insurance. Taiwan’s medical services are not only one of the tops among the world, but also have much lower price compared to the others. It would be a shame to see it crumble just because we refuse to pay a little more.
References
National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare Taiwan,
R.O.C. (2019). National Health Insurance Annual Statistical Report 2018.
Retrieved from
https://www.nhi.gov.tw/Content_List.aspx?n=81B8369AB1628185&topn=23C660CAACAA159D
Chen, T.-J., Chou, L.-F., & Hwang, S.-J. (2006). Patterns of ambulatory care
utilization in Taiwan. BMC Health Services Research, 6, 54–58. Retrieved
from https://doi-org.autorpa.lib.ccu.edu.tw/10.1186/1472-6963-6-54
Agustin, K., & Chou, S.-Y. (2019). Impact of an Ageing Society on Healthcare
Expenditure of National Health Insurance in Taiwan. Jurnal Teknik Industri,
21(2), 49–56.
Retrieved from https://doi-org.autorpa.lib.ccu.edu.tw/10.9744/jti.21.2.49-.56
National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare Taiwan,
R.O.C. (2020). 2019-2020 National Health Insurance Annual Report.
Retrieved from
https://www.nhi.gov.tw/Content_List.aspx?n=9223A12B5B31CB37&topn=4864A82710DE35ED