The NHIA’s promotion of a new balance billing system which sets the upper charge limits for some medical devices has faced defeat. The MOHW Minister, Dr Chen Shih Chung, said after a meeting with stakeholders that the MOHW decided to put the implementation on hold for the time being. The MOHW will convene discussion meetings within two months, and in the meantime will examine the extreme pricing problems in the medical device market. The MOHW will also make its medical device price comparison website more user-friendly to help patients make choices.
President Tsai Ing-Wen post on her Facebook page to encourage the communication among all stakeholders in order to find an effective solution. President Tsai believes communication is the key to resolving disputes and to creating a win-win situation.
To give priority to the review of extreme pricing cases
The NHIA previously announced to introduce a new balance billing system for medical devices by setting the upper charge limit for 352 medical devices in 8 product categories. This announcement has aroused strong opposition. The participants attending the discussion meeting held on the 13th include representatives from medical societies, hospitals, the Taiwan Medical Alliance for Labor Justice and Patient Safety, the Consumers’ Foundation and the Taiwan Medical Association.
Dr Chen Shih-Chung, the MOHW Minister, said after the meeting that some stakeholders complained about not being properly informed of the new system. The MOHW will take the meeting minutes into account and review the strategy. The MOHW’s priorities in the following two months are to review the cases of extreme pricing and keep the information open and accessible.
To keep the price comparison website user-friendly
As for whether this new system will be put into practice in the future, Dr Chen expressed that the authority keeps all options open. The most important thing for most of the public is to keep the information transparent. The government’s official price comparison website should be user-friendly so that the public will not be lost in massive information. At the present stage, the priority is to put all information into order so as to help the public make decisions.
Dr Liu Ruey-Ling, the President of the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan, said in the discussion meeting that the NHIA’s announcement has caused tension between doctors and patients. The decision-making process of setting the upper charge limit for multi-focal intraocular lenses (IOLs) is certainly questionable. The expert meeting has never been able to reach any consensus on this issue; however, the NHIA made an arbitrary decision on the upper charge limit.
Dr Hwang Juey-Jen, the President of the Taiwan Society of Cardiology, said that the Society had been asked to provide the price information of certain medical devices without knowing that it would be used by the NHIA to set the upper price limits.
The new system is on hold not scrapped
However, the Consumers’ Foundation sides with the NHIA. Wu Rong-Da, the Secretary General of the Foundation, said that the new system should be suspended just temporarily. The Foundation hopes it can be put into practice by the end of this year. Teng Xi-Hua, the Spokesperson of the Foundation, expressed that the NHIA should implement the new system in August on those medical devices which have no disputes over upper charge limits or product classifications.
Ting Yi-ming, the Spokesperson of the Executive Yuan said that the government is optimistic about the communication result and believes that it will help to reduce the public’s financial burden and encourage the positive development of the medical industry. The government will put effort into making the price information platform convenient and user-friendly, said Ting.
【2020-06-14 / United Daily News】
