Page 109 - 2024 Taiwan Health and Welfare Report

08 ｜ National Health Insurance and National Pension

To protect people against financial hardships due In 2023, the total number of outpatient visits was
to birth, old age, illness, death, injury, disability and 380.56 million; the total number of hospitalizations was
unemployment; a sound social security system has been 3.50 million. While the average number of outpatient
established under the principles of mutual assistance and visits per person per year was 16.10 (combining Western
risk sharing. medicine, Chinese medicine and dental clinics), the
number of hospitalizations per person per year was 0.15.
Chapter 1 National Health Insurance The average length of hospital stay was 1.33 days.
By the end of 2023, the number of health facilities
Section 1 Current Status of National Health having contracts with NHI reached 30,838, of which
Insurance 23,085 were contracted hospitals and clinics that
Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) has accounted for 91.6% of the total medical institutions
attracted worldwide attention for its "universality, nationwide.
affordability, convenience and high satisfaction." The The tiered medical system has been reinforced since
satisfaction rate reached 90% in 2023. (Figure 8-1) 2017, the NHIA has implemented six major strategies and
By the end of 2023, the total number of insured related measures to encourage people to seek medical
individuals under the NHI reached 23.88 million, achieving treatment in primary care facilities. If the physician deems
the coverage rate of 99.9%. it medically necessary for the patient to see a specialist,
The funding of NHI mainly comes from insurance the patient will be referred accordingly for continuous and
premiums paid by insured individuals, the employers and appropriate care. This allows medical centers and regional
the government. A small portion comes from external hospitals to focus on intensive care and medical research,
financial resources, such as Public Welfare Lottery and for primary clinics and district hospitals to serve as the
Surpluses and Welfare Surcharge on Tobacco Products. gatekeepers for public's health. The proportion of outpatient
showed a gradually rising trend for primary care facilities
Section 2 Universal Coverage and Easy
from 2017 to 2019 (before the Covid-19 Pandemic), and a
Access to Healthcare slight decline for large medical institutions. (Figure 8-2)

Figure 8-1 Trends in Satisfaction with National Health Insurance

Ĉ Satisfied Dissatisfied
100
91.0 91.2
90.2
90 85.8
85.2 91.6
83.1 89.7
80.4 81.0 86.5
80 78.5 78.6 77.5 82.9 78.6
72.3 79.3 79.4 80.0 79.8
70 73.9
65.7 65.4 65.6 70.9
61.0 67.6
60 63.3 63.8 64.3
59.7
50 47.0 Copayment Implementation of
Premium & adjustment Second Generation NHI
Copayment adjustment
40
34.1
39.0
29.6
30 28.1
25.0 25.9
22.1 22.1
27.0 20.6
20 22.5 24.5 15.9 17.3 22.0 18.2 16.9
20.1 19.4 14.1 12.5
15.8 15.7 8.1 8.4 7.4
10 13.6 13.4 7.3 6.8
11.6 11.3 10.8
0
1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002/5 2002/11 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013/3 2013/5 2013/7 2013/10 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 Year
Source: National Health Insurance Administration, MOHW (NHIA)
Note: landline and mobile dual frame phone survey has been adopted since 2021.

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