Health Care System

I want to change the health care system and the National Health Insurance in Taiwan. Taiwan is facing many questions which are slower population growth, markedly lower fertility rates, higher life expectancy and population aging. People will need more health care system and knowledge in the future. The Department of Health and the BNHI is currently planning to alleviate the budget crisis by raising the insurance premium rate and introduction of the second generation NHI. Nevertheless, THRF believe the causes of NHI financial crisis are mainly rooted in the inefficient management and the lack of supervision from the government. The increase of premium rate would only put the burden of government's mistake on shoulders of the public. Thus we are currently against rise of NHI premium rate until the government is able to launch an effective reform to address some inherent flaws within the NHI system, such as obscure FFS reimbursement process, lack of information transparency, and lax quality standards. Overall, the current healthcare crises are mainly the result of lack of government supervision, information disparity, unchecked commercialization, and other policy failures. Most these problems are correlated, for instance, the corporation-influence on Taiwan's hospitals might be accelerated by the lack of official supervision, while such supervision weakness might be the result of a failed policy.As recent as 1995, more than 40 percent of the population in Taiwan was uninsured. With the creation of their universal health care system, more than 96 percent are now insured with no overall increase in the cost, and dramatically improved health outcomes - particularly among the poor. The Taiwanese boast of integrating the best features of health care systems around the world.

Unlike the programs of both Canada and Britain, in which premiums are paid directly to the government, and then distributed to regional administrators; employers, individuals, and the government in Taiwan pay compulsory, income-based premiums to the National Health Insurance (NHI) plan. In the same spirit of compulsory premiums, which are intended to make patients more conscientious of the health services they consume, the Taiwanese also contribute minimal co-pays: 20 percent of drugs up to $6.50, about $7 for outpatient care, and $2 for dental. Individuals seeking care for a major disease, child-birth, or preventive care, and the poor, children and veterans, are exempted from co-pays.(Jakasuleff, 2009) The Bureau of National Insurance (BNHI) operates on a national global budget, which was introduced to contain costs and is determined by the more centralized Department of Health, which negotiates contracts with health care providers on a fee-for-service basis with a uniform pay schedule. A deflation mechanism engages once a service quota is reached, resulting in declining reimbursement rates. More troubling is long-term financial sustainability. Taiwan is experiencing