In the decade since it was launched, the National Health Insurance (NHI) has contributed to a modest reduction in the gap in life expectancy between the rich and poor sections of society, public health researchers found in a recent study.
However, society's most financially privileged members still outlive the most marginalized groups by more than a decade on average, the study's results showed.
In Taipei City, the average life expectancy is 79.62 years, while in Taitung County, the average life expectancy is only 69.59.
The study, conducted by researcher Wen Chi-pang (
To determine whether and in what ways the NHI has contributed to an overall healthier society since it was launched in 1995, Wen compared the average life expectancy of the populace as divided into 10 socio-economic groups. He found that those in the more marginalized sections of society had benefitted more from the creation of the NHI than those in more privileged groups in terms of increases in life expectancy.
In the decade prior to the launch of the NHI, the life expectancy gap between the rich and the poor was steadily widening.
The life expectancy gap between the most privileged and least privileged men was 8.37 years in 1984 and increased to 10.65 years in 1994. Since the institution of the NHI, the trend has reversed. By 2004, the gap had narrowed modestly to 10.03 years.
The study found, however, that the NHI has not significantly accelerated the pace of overall lengthening of life expectancy, Wen said.
In the decade before the NHI was created, the average life expectancy for men increased by 2.27 years, Wen's data indicated. During the decade after the NHI was instituted, the average male life expectancy increased by 2.39 years.
Other factors contributed to the steadily increasing life expectancy, he said.
"It's unrealistic to expect the NHI to improve the health of the nation dramatically by itself," Wen said.
"In general, people overestimate the value of medical intervention," he said.
However, further gains in life-expectancy will probably come from changes in lifestyle, Wen said.
In an Annals of Internal Medicine editorial that referred to Wen's article, Karen Davis and Andrew Huang said that Taiwan's experience with national health insurance should send a clear message to US policymakers.
"The improvement in life expectancy, although modest, for health class groups with the least healthy outcomes before national health insurance lends credence to the argument that the US should join other industrialized nations in ensuring universal health insurance coverage," the editorial said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard