I’m a foreign exchange student in Taiwan hence i don’t have NHI.
Last Sunday I went to a doctor and all cost 200 nt meds included.
Then at Wednesday I went to ENT specialist which cost 600 nt med included (understandable that specialist cost more per visit).
Then today I went to another gp because Im having diarrhea and vomitting; which cost 600 nt meds included.
Can anyone elaborate on how pricing works in Taiwan? Am I getting ripped by paying 600 for GP?
You should get an itemized bill. It will list the fees for admission and medicine. I get those without asking when they hand me the medicine bag, even with NHI.
Where were the doctors based? There are different fees depending on whether it was a local clinic, an ER, (teaching) hospital, with/without referral letter etc.
if you are in Taipei, you should not be charged more than double of the costs big hospitals would get from NHI for the same treatments for NHI holders.
Where are you going to get care? The fees are based on facility, not treatment (normal outpatient treatments, not hospitalization or surgery) or doctor.
Clinic is the cheapest, then larger clinic, small hospitals, large hospitals, medical centers, in that order.
So your fee can vary from a few hundred all the way up to thousands depending on where you go.
I should say hospitalizations or surgery is obviously charged differently.
that is because nhi pays for treatments. when you dont have nhi, you coukd be charged for treatments.
The cost of treatment seems to depend on facility though. It’s going to be lower at small clinics for example vs a medical center where uninsured cost could be in the thousands.
It can seem random at time though.
You should clarify what kinds of doctors you went to (clinic vs. district hospital, regional hospital, etc. - I don’t remember the exact wording used), because there are different fee levels.
NT$600 sounds about right for a self-paid outpatient hospital visit with some medicines, though I think the registration fee, consultation fee, etc. can vary slightly between hospitals. Before I had NHI I used to pay around NT$400-500 per visit, and that was several years ago. I think prices have increased since then.
I’d avoid clinics if you don’t have NHI (I still avoid them now I do have NHI). I think some of them aren’t really used to dealing with foreigners without NHI and sometimes charge more, enough that it would be cheaper to just go to a hospital and get a better standard of care. I remember one ENT clinic charging me NT$900 for three days of medicine and a misdiagnosis, so since then I’ve always just gone to hospitals.
You think you’re getting ripped off paying 600nt for medical visits without insurance 
Edit: and including medication?
big hospitals have set standards to charge uninsured patients, and you could find the standards somewhere. I doubt small clinics do the same.
if it is not emergency, the basic outpatient medical fee you should pay at a medical center without a referral is 470 ntd with nhi. clinics and hospitals could charge at least up to twice of it + registration fee up to 150 ntd, to uninsured patients.
Sorry for the late reply,
All doctor are from roadside clinic
I didn’t realize that foreign exchange students were allowed to live here without NHI coverage. I thought it was pretty much mandatory for all residents.
It’s not.
I’ve paid NT$540 to visit a specialist and I am a citizen with NHI.
You think NT$600 including medication is expensive lol
you need to be here more than 183 days. if you come just for 1 semester you arent eligible for NHI
Thanks. I didn’t realize there are students who came here for only one semester!
Only after 6 months of residence, and if allowed to stay more than 6 months, u can enroll for NHI. Had to wait indeed 6 months to get NHI.
Unless, u r enroled by ur TW employer via their insured unit, that’s immediate.
From those I would say the NT 200 is the strange one, that’s generally the price for seeing a Dr. and having meds when you have a NHI card.
It’s a very small clinic, seems like the doctor cut the fee knowing I’m a penniless student
Where do you study, when I was at the MTC they a clinic but idk how it works. There is a insurance fee.