The Medical Community Calls For Maintaining a 5.5% NHI Growth Rate and Supports Using Stock Transaction Tax for Structural Reform

The medical community pointed out that the National Health Insurance (NHI) global budget has maintained a 5.5% growth rate over the past two years, providing much-needed relief to the healthcare system. They hope this growth can continue for another four to eight years, after which adjustments can be reconsidered once healthcare spending as a share of GDP approaches the levels seen in Japan and South Korea.

Hung Tzu-jen(洪子仁), President of the Taiwan College of Healthcare Executive, noted that previous growth rates of only 3–4% had contributed to workforce attrition and delays in the adoption of new drugs and technologies. The recent increase to 5.5% has improved system capacity and should be maintained over a sustained period. He emphasized that government subsidies should be regarded as a long-term investment in health resilience. Given the high proportion of income derived from salaries and the declining working population, Hung suggested allocating 10–15% of stock transaction tax revenues to the NHI. This would contribute around NTD 20–30 billion to the NHI annually. Additionally, he recommended increasing the government’s share of total NHI funding to 38–40%.

Chen Xiang-guo(陳相國), President of the Taiwan Medical Association, similarly stated that the 5.5% growth rate, combined with government subsidies, has helped improve healthcare quality and ease nursing workforce shortages. With continued and stable fiscal support, there may be no immediate need to raise premiums in the short term; however, the public should recognize that NHI premiums cannot remain unchanged indefinitely. Overall, the medical community advocates for more institutionalized and sustainable funding mechanisms to address long-term financial challenges.

【2026-05-08/China Times】