Another point on cost control: if you need to stay in hospital overnight, it’s only the strictly medical stuff which is covered by NHI as far as I overheard. There’s a charge added for the “Hotel” part isn’t there? And I noticed family members (I guess…) helping push around beds sometimes - so are there other charges for personal care assistance, food, whatever? And what if you have no family to lend a hand?
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Far as I know hospitals here don’t really offer food and such, it’s just a ward. They’re not like hospitals in the states.
What happens if you are alone and have no family?
Health care is cheap in Taiwan even without NHI or insurance.
The real (answerable) question is “Why is health care so expensive in other countries?”
Health care is focused on health of people, not health of business.
Schools are also affordable in Taiwan. For similar reasons.
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Universal healthcare makes healthcare cheaper for everyone else too, you know foreigners and such.
I think Canada’s rates for uninsured is much cheaper than the US even if it’s a bit expensive.
The question is why is US “free market” healthcare so damned expensive?
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Good question. I remember when foreigners we’re not allowed to be part of the NHI system. I am very glad we are now. 
In the old country, which is socialist medicine, allegedly free, we have 3 hospitals, each catering to over a few million people. Here in Xindian we have what, 4 hospitals for the whole district?
Aside from numbers, back over where I come from you used to pay the doctor private clinic to see you. They made an under the table deal and you got priority to get an operation, see a specialist, etc in a public hospital but not paying the State/hospital but the doctor, who probably coincidentally was Head of Department. Now they are more sincere and medical attention is US style, with US insurance firms and US prices in private hospitals unless it is terminal/not worthy as in cost effective. Then it is back in line with the millions in the public system.
So don’t ask me, Taiwan’s NHI wins in speed, accessibility, scope, modern, warmth, cost, etc. As a chronic user, I don’t know what I would do without it.
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You do realize that New Taipei City contains basically half the population of Taiwan right?
That means there are likely more than a million people living in Xindian alone, and so the 4 hospitals are likely covering a little less people per hospital compared to your old country.
But Taiwan has figured out how to get millions of people served efficiently.
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New Taipei City - 4 million people.
Taiwan - 23½ million people.
4/23½=17%
Definition of half = 50%. 17<50. Therefore not half.
Xindian - Latest Data - 300000 people.
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What I mean to say is that a single district in Taiwan has more hospitals than a whole country. That’s it.
Far more effective system in Taiwan, yes. First line of defense is a network of clinics, pharmacies, first responders. Even the websites/apps for service. Heck, taxi drivers were delivering medicine before the pandemic! That’s organization Taiwan style.
Preventive care? Got it. Could be better but I get follow ups from the boobies check truck organization. They are more concerned than me and call at least 3 times for follow up and to remind you to check your pride and joy.
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Hospitals offer meals but they are itemized separately on the bill as is room type- VIP, single, double, 3-4 person.
Sometimes hospitals can organize caregivers or you can call your own. Hospital required a night carer for me out of ICU for a few nights and I wanted my wife to go home to rest; so we paid 1,500 ourselves for an overnight carer. I heard about 3,000 for 24 hours.
In ICU all that stuff is covered by NHI and done by the nurses.
In general wards there are also people who go room to room offering haircuts, nail cutting, shampooing and body washing.
Also if you need to be wheel-chaired for any tests such as an x-ray they provide staff to take you and bring you back to your bed.
I once had a roommate have temple people come chant for them before an operation and even burned ghost money in the room. The head nurse wasn’t happy about that.
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And yet, it performs pretty well in the rankings right? Ahead of much more developed/richer nations, no? As I am sensitive to your sensitivities to not mention the country, the long and illustrative list makes sure that is not being done.
Taiwan at the top.
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No you don’t, but fortunately I don’t think most people are needing to go to the doctor every 2 weeks for such conditions. Maybe it’s just you?
They do.
I corrected you on this 5 weeks ago, the last time you invented this problem. Though that time you claimed that people need to go back weekly rather than every 2 weeks:
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It’s affordable for some due to them being subsidized by others.
Your salary is either very low or not all your income is being reported.
This causes huge problems as most hospitals have no gate keeper, people with a stubbed toe can go see an orthopaedics specialist, many of them for free.
That depends on your reported income.
Absolutely true, avoid like the plague (and you may just be doing that!)!
Taiwan’s NHI is only “affordable”, or even free, for some as it’s subsidized by others. The system is completely rotten and leaking money like a sieve. I’ve worked with Taiwanese expats in China on huge salaries who would report zero income in Taiwan and hence pay NT800/mth NHI and fly back every so often for their “free” medical care, Colleagues who’s wives and children are enrolled in fake unions in order to reduce their NHI contributions to the minimum rather than being based on the actual household income. Had a colleague who was part of a Christian group in Taiwan, their members would regularly visit doctors offices and he’d stock up a huge collection of drugs which they would then distribute to poor aboriginal communities as part of their missionary efforts.
If the system was so great it would survive on a voluntary membership basis, when it’s compulsory to pay in you know that something is wrong!
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The real question is why is healthcare so expensive in America. It’s only extremely expensive in America and a couple of other countries like Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Yep. When I had a parent in the hospital, we bought specialized diet outside the hospital; they had basic (separately billed) meals, but the doctors recommended something else that the hospital didn’t provide. I also paid for a 24/7 helper for extra assistance with bathroom, bedpan, sheet / clothing changes, etc. Very different system, but that’s a relatively small part of the cost delta (and still dirt cheap compared to the US).
The entire system is cheap, even when paying out of pockets. Costs are low, and doctors don’t make crazy amounts. YMMV depending on your baseline country you’re comparing to.
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Sounds ridiculous as aboriginal communities have free medicines, have local clinics or have vans that take doctors and other medical professionals to visit patients. Also there are free vans that take people to the hospitals. What they would be doing is illegal as well if they are giving prescription drugs to others.
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Yes. $826 is the standard premium for everyone who fall under the “other” category including the OP if he signs up for NHI, as his income is in the US.
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I don’t. My son got NHI from the time it started.
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Mattiau is on a gold card. His salary is paid from overseas into Taiwan. NHI told him that as he has no employer in Taiwan he only has to pay the minimum for NHI yet his minimum salary to get a Gold Card would be quite high.
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If it cost you over NT$13,000 a month in mandatory deductions from your salary would you still consider it cheap?
Was completely ridiculous. They also had a rule that only English could be spoken by the priests and aprentice priests for formal activities, such as saying mass etc. Presumably it made them seem a bit more elite, something like Christianity in Europe using Latin in the past I suppose. They were 100% all local Taiwanese.
That’s not how premiums are calculated.
As I said!
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If your monthly premium is 13,000 then your reported income is extremely high.
Would you prefer us system where people pay basically 10,000nt a month for insurance premium on top of the extremely high cost they pay if they actually used it?
When Americans go to Mexico for healthcare, something is effed up.
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