NHI for Self-Employed (Gold Card)

[qwert_zuiop]

A similar topic has come up in the gold-card thread by @BananaJay : The Employment Gold Card Super-Thread - #1637 by BananaJay

@BananaJay

Just in case anyone else is self-employed/freelancing etc and wondering about health insurance:

1. I went to the local NHI office here in Tainan
2. They were extremely helpful, one wonderful lady personally helped me at every counter
3. I was in an out in about 30 minutes
4. They did ask if I had been in Taiwan for at least 6 months without leaving and after getting the Gold card
5. They needed the gold card, passport, photographs (but there was also a booth there to take them), and my rental contract (not needed but it helped me by having it in the end)

The only weird issue I had was actually trying to find the location, outside of Taipei it seems the official site doesn’t list locations (at least when I was searching in English). I had to ask a local friend to point it to me on the map.

Oh, and it’s below $1000 a month (at least for now) and they’ll send a monthly bill in the mail that I can pay at 7/11/Family Mart etc.

@qwert_zuiop

Do you know if you will have to retroactively pay a higher rate if your income turns out to be higher? Or does the self-employment income only affect future payments?

@BananaJay

I’m really not sure how the payments get adjusted. My guess (emphasis) is it’s possibly related to the tax filing at the end of each year. Perhaps if you are in a higher bracket they adjust your health insurance rates.

Really not sure and would love anyone that knows more about the subject to reply here!

@tando

Articles 20 and 21 of National Health Insurance Act .

Unfortunately, I am not really getting what the links posted by @tando mean in this context. Article 20 says:

If the insured prescribed in Categories 1 and 2, has no stable income, the insured shall select the proper insured payroll-related amount from the Grading Table of insured payroll-related amount and such insured payroll-related amount shall be examined by the Insurer, who may make adjustment at its own discretion if the insured payroll-related amount is found inappropriate.

So it’s up to the Insurer (= NHI) to decide if they want to charge more or not?

Article 21 states:

In case that the income of the insured in Categories 1 and 2 as prescribed in the previous article is adjusted between February and July of the current year, the group insurance applicants shall notify the Insurer the adjusted insured payroll-related amount by the end of August of the same year, or notify the Insurer by the end of February of the following year if the adjustment is made between August of the current year and January of the following year, which shall become effective on the first day of the following month after notification.

So no retroactive payment then? But as a self-employed person you need to notify NHI two times a year about the income of the last months and the new payment will get effective the following month?