Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system has been ranked No. 1 in the world with a score of 86.71 points, according to the 2020 Health Care Index released by the global database Numbeo.

National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director General Lee Po-chang said that thanks to the hard work of Taiwan’s medical community, the NHI has garnered high scores in several key international indicators. While the NHIA is proud of Taiwan’s achievements with the NHI and will continue striving for reasonable reimbursement terms, it will also address areas where improvements can be made, such as addressing Taiwan’s spending on the NHI, which remains relatively low in proportion to the gross domestic product as well as inadequate allocation of resources for medical personnel.

Director General Lee said that the NHIA is currently working on optimizing resource allocation, where allocation to medical personnel is increased as the scale of resources amassed under the NHI grows. Other priorities include the referral system, where patients are encouraged to visit clinics for follow-up checks after being diagnosed at larger hospitals as well as preventing unnecessary or duplicate diagnostic testing.

Director General Lee emphasized that diagnostic testing takes up a significant portion of NHI resources, leading to displacement of resources that allow doctors to perform surgeries and attend to outpatient patients. Although immediate changes are not likely to be achieved, the NHIA will continue its advocacy of the referral system.

[2020-02-09 / Commercial Times]