In response to President Lai’s “Healthy Taiwan” policy, the National Health Insurance Committee of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) held a seminar to analyse the vision for, and promotion of, a healthy Taiwan. Dr. Chen Chih-Hung, Vice Convenor of the Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee, noted that as the NHI celebrates its 31st anniversary, there remains room for innovation. He therefore proposed the “Three Arrows of NHI Reform,” covering transformation, integration, and payment reform.
Dr. Shih Chung-Liang, Minister of Health and Welfare, has frequently pointed out that President Lai’s vision of “Healthy Taiwan” serves as a crucial guide for the transformation of the NHI system. As Taiwan has become a super-ageing society, it is necessary for the NHI to shift from “paying for medical services” to “investing in health.” Furthermore, the reimbursement model needs to move from “payment by volume” to “payment by quality,” while integrating resources for home treatment, home care, and long-term care to create a more accessible, community-based care system. All these efforts aim to improve public health. He also expressed hope that the President’s vision will elevate the status of the NHI to the level of national security and encourage more forward-looking thinking in the allocation of NHI resources.
Dr. Chou Li-Fang, Chair of the NHI Committee, stated that the 2026 NHI global budget has broken two records. First, all departmental budgets have achieved a growth rate of 5.5%, the maximum approved by the Executive Yuan. Second, the combined total of the global budget and the budget for public affairs has reached NT$1,008.2 billion, the highest in history. She stressed the role played by the NHI Committee in facilitating communication between the NHI and stakeholders involved in the “Healthy Taiwan” policy.
Dr. Chen mentioned his “Healthy Taiwan Deep Cultivation Project,” which aims to address the long-standing problem of resource shortages in the healthcare sector. He has presented this project to President Lai and received his full support. The project was launched in 2025 with a guaranteed budget of NT$48.9 billion over a five-year period. It covers four major areas: improving working conditions for healthcare workers, developing talent cultivation plans, introducing smart health technologies, and ensuring the sustainability of the healthcare system.
Dr. Chen also noted that the “Healthy Taiwan” policy is now supported by six implementation pillars: promoting the national cancer prevention programme; fully implementing the “888 Project” for the prevention of the “three high” conditions; strengthening mental health services; enhancing healthcare system resilience through the use of technology; improving the sustainability of the NHI; and advancing the 10-year Long-Term Care 3.0 Plan.
Dr. Chen highlighted the importance of innovation for the NHI and proposed the “Three Arrows of NHI Reform.” The first arrow is to transform healthcare concepts, shifting from disease treatment to patient-centred care by strengthening preventive medicine. The second arrow focuses on changing care delivery from fragmented services to integrated and holistic care. The third arrow aims to reform the reimbursement model, moving from payment by volume to payment by quality in order to incentivise high-quality care.
【2026-04-22 / United Daily】
