Hi,
I am trying to get reimbursement for medical costs incurred in Taiwan. I have seen a doctor a few times at the NTUH (National Taiwan University Hospital) and gotten some expensive prescriptions, probably at least US$1000. I originally planned on getting reimbursed for 80% of the cost through my US health insurance, Blue Cross Blue Shield, by mailing them the receipts from the visits and the pharmacy.
However, after taking a closer look at the receipts, I started to realize that they didn’t provide enough information. All it provided was the words “PHARMACY” and “PHYSICIAN FEE” next to the charges. There was no statement of diagnoses, doctor’s name and credentials, medication dosage, or anything. The medications were not even listed! So now I’m wondering how on earth I am going to get the required documentation for the reimbursement. Moreover, I will probably need to see the doctor again and have the prescriptions renewed, so what should I do differently?
I know the NTUH is reputable, so I was really surprised to see the receipt to be so unhelpful. Anyone have any ideas?
You should go to the doctor and explain to him clearly what is it that you need. The receipt that you got was just like any receipt you get from 7-11, which you just chuck away and they didn’t have to give you anything else because you didn’t specify it. I don’t know what kind of receipts you’ve been getting but diagnoses, his credentials, medication dosage will never be in a RECEIPT. This is probably under PATIENT FILES.
Does that mean that I can go back and get an official record of the money already spent so that I can be reimbursed for the things I only got the unhelpful receipts for? Is that what “Patient Files” means?
No. ‘Patient files’ means the files they have about what treatment they gave you. Go back, take a Chinese-speaking friend, ask them to make up an itemised list of stuff and tell them why you want it. Might work?
[quote=“hs172”]You should go to the doctor and explain to him clearly what is it that you need. The receipt that you got was just like any receipt you get from 7-11, which you just chuck away and they didn’t have to give you anything else because you didn’t specify it. I don’t know what kind of receipts you’ve been getting but diagnoses, his credentials, medication dosage will never be in a RECEIPT. This is probably under PATIENT FILES.
Ask and Ye shall receive. That’s a good idea[/quote]
That’s marked on the prescription … the hospital should have that still in your file, it’s computerized.
I had a similar experience recently at another Taipei hospital. My overseas insurance has certain requirements (specifically that the services supported a diagnosis and not mere examination). The doctor tailored what I needed, however (1) I needed to be specific on what I actually needs the documents to say and (2) there was an extra cost for this work of about NT$800 that I will somehow also try to claim for reimbursement.