Public health experts and members of civic groups voiced concern yesterday about a government plan to revise the laws and establish international medical zones for foreigners, fearing it would cause further commercialization of medical services in Taiwan.
Speaking at a public hearing held by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英), civic group members said the establishment of special medical tourism zones would do more harm than good to the nation’s healthcare system.
The comments were made in the wake of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) push for legislation to relax the existing Medical Care Act (醫療法) to allow hospitals in international medical zones to be operated as commercial businesses.
BUSINESSES
The government believes such sites — about three or four of which would be scattered around the country — would boost medical tourism, help retain medical talent and elevate the quality of the country’s medical care.
An area near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has been chosen as the location for the first medical zone, but construction is pending the legal revision, which is expected to take at least half a year.
“The revision of the law is a serious issue and should not be dealt with hastily,” said Andrew Huang (黃達夫), president of the Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center. “The public needs to know about the pros and cons.”
BRAIN DRAIN
He said the government is sending a message to the public that the commercialization of medical care can be promoted, which runs counter to the concept that medicine is not about profit, but about helping the sick. Taiwan’s successful healthcare system is based on the belief that affordable medical services should be available to everyone covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI) program, he said.
Although people who seek treatment in the special zones will not be subsidized and the government has promised that there would be no impact on the rights of local NHI insurers, many participants expressed concern nonetheless that good doctors would be attracted to working for foreign clients in the zones, creating a drain on the pool of medical staff in other facilities.
MEDICAL TOURISM
“We are not opposing medical tourism,” said Eva Teng (滕西華), a spokeswoman for the National Health Insurance Civic Surveillance Alliance, “but the government has failed to tell us why medical tourism cannot be achieved under the present conditions.”
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