Health Insurance in Taiwan

Hello,

I plan on moving to Taiwan in January 2014 and I would like to know if there are any Health Insurance companies I can sign up with when I get there. If I sign up with a company in the U.S., I’ll surely have to pay a hefty fee, but I wonder if there is something low cost that I could sign up for in TW. Maybe something that covers emergencies…

Please share advice and experiences!

Thank you!

How long will you be here and what will you be doing?

There is traveler’s insurance, which is usually rather affordable, if you’re here for a short period of time. If you’re coming for a job, you’ll be automatically enrolled in the National Health Insurance scheme. If coming as a student, you’ll also be eligible for NHI after four months (as far as I know).

Thanks for the quick reply Hokwongwei!

I would like to stay in TW for a few years. I am a contractor for an American company online, so I won’t be getting any benefits through work or schooling. Travelers insurance might be an option though. I’ll look into that.

I had considered opening a new thread on this topic, so I’ll just share my thoughts here instead.
I am going to Taiwan with my girlfriend for a year, and was wondering what was the best course for health insurance. As I am still a student we have access to cheap student-ex-pat insurance (about NT$20,500 a year per person). But seeing as we are eligible for the NHI (for me, only after 4 months), I thought we could save some money here.

But as far as I can read, the NHI is good for the basic stuff, but isn’t as comprehensive as a private insurance. My girlfriend will probably also be receiving some fertility treatment, but that isn’t covered by any of the two insurances anyway.
I think we will stick with the inexpensive private insurance, just to avoid all the hassle, even if will make us double-covered with NHI being obligatory.

If anyone has any thoughts on this, it would be great to hear them.

Sounds fine. Yes, NHI is NOT and option, but mandatory if you have an ARC. That said, even stuff you have to pay for yourself is going to be a lot cheaper, in most cases, it will be a great help. For example, fertility treatment will definitively be cheaper, and tests before that will be covered. But the baby’s -future result as expected- will not be covered for first months -not a resident yet!- and if complications arise, those can be really expensive if without private insurance. That is the most basic and usual example we can think of. So, yes, your approach sounds reasonable: keep both, just not the severely expensive stuff.

How much is a good private insurance in Taiwan ??
Some experience ??

Greetings
Ralf