The ceiling on co-payments for hospital stays covered by Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) program is set to be raised on Jan. 1, 2024, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday.
Under the proposed changes put forth by the ministry, the co-payments for a single hospital stay for a particular condition will be capped at NT$50,000 (US$1,566), up from NT$48,000.
Meanwhile, accumulated co-payments for hospital stays over a year, regardless of how many times a patient is admitted or how many nights they stay in hospital, will be capped at NT$84,000, up from NT$80,000.
The hikes will affect around 10,900 people and increase hospital revenue by NT$233.7 million but will not affect low-income families or patients with major severe illnesses or rare diseases who are exempt from co-payments for treatment of their disease, Chen Chen-hui (陳真慧), deputy head of the ministry’s Department of Social Insurance, told CNA.
The proposal will go through a 60-day public review period before it is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1 next year, she said.
Under the National Health Insurance Act, hospital stay co-payments are adjusted annually to reflect increases in income per capita across Taiwan.
Based on the latest national income per capita statistics published by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, NHI co-payments for a one-time hospital stay are 6 percent of average per capita income, while accumulated co-payments for hospital stays over a year are 10 percent of average income, Chen said, citing the law.
Source: Focus Taiwan
