Newly appointed National Health Insurance Administration Director General Shih Chung-liang on Feb. 15 said that copayment adjustments may be implemented in two phases. Beginning with the copayments on emergency room services and prescription drugs, adjustments could begin as soon as in April, affecting regional hospitals and medical centers, with a NT$300 cap placed on prescription drugs. Regarding the copayment on emergency services, the rate will be decided by the severity of patients’ condition, with patients in less critical condition subject to higher copayment increases than those in critical conditions, in accordance with the principles of the referral system. As for the copayments on diagnostic examinations, stakeholders including the medical community, the Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation (THRF) and the Consumers’ Foundation will hold further discussions on setting the threshold at which copayments are waived, the cap on copayments, as well as other continency measures.
THRF Executive Director Lin Ya-hui said that although the National Health Insurance Administration has set caps on copayments for different tiers of hospitals, the foundation estimates that patients with non-critical but chronic conditions will be subject to a substantial burden each year, in particular among households with multiple individuals with chronic conditions.
Taiwan College of Healthcare Executive President Hung Tzu-jen said that by dividing the implementation of the copayment adjustments over multiple phases, the impact of the intended reforms will likely be dampened, as spending on diagnostic examinations as a proportion of the National Health Insurance has continued to soar in the recent years. Consensus on diagnostic examination copayments must be formed and implemented as quickly as possible to address the issue of overspending on diagnostic examinations at the source, President Hung said, adding that the government must raise the cap on NHI premium rates and continue to increase investments into the public’s health.
[2023-2/15/United Daily News]
