The key to saving the cash-strapped National Health Insurance (NHI) system lies in reform of its spending structure, experts said yesterday.
Chiang Tung-liang (江東亮), dean of the College of Public Health at National Taiwan University (NTU), said that although a recent legislative amendment to increase premiums has temporarily saved the system from collapse, more attention should be paid to effectively distributing the additional resources.
“This is a sensitive issue that no-one wants to touch, but we need to tackle the problem if we want a sustainable health insurance system,” said Huang Huang-hsiung, a member of the Control Yuan and an advocate of further NHI reforms.
Under the current system, for example, there is a serious shortage of doctors specializing in pediatrics, gynecology, surgery and internal medicine, Huang said. This is because doctors specializing in these fields do not get paid any more than other doctors in less demanding areas, he said.
If the NHI payment system does not improve, there will be no doctors to look after the country’s children in the future, Huang said.
He listed several other problems stemming from the existing expenditure system, which include the waste of medical resources and the difficulty in running municipal hospitals.
“There should be fairer regulations on who gets money and who doesn’t,” Chiang said. “We ask everyone to examine the problems of the NHI expenditure structure and think of ways to improve it.”
An academic conference on the issue is scheduled to take place tomorrow in Taipei, with more than 380 participants expected.
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