Overseas nationals are not benefiting at the expense of the National Health Insurance (NHI) as many assumed and Chinese students, who are not covered by the NHI, should be included in the program, the preliminary review of the second-generation NHI said.
Former minister of health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), now a teacher at Tzu Chi University’s Department of Public Health, on Saturday in his capacity as convener of the review said that the review would be completed in April.
Yeh advised that Chinese students studying in Taiwan be covered by the NHI as other foreign students are, a move that would require a review of Chinese students’ status.
There are between 20,000 and 30,000 Chinese students studying in the country. They are permitted to stay in Taiwan under the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
However, to qualify for NHI coverage, Chinese students need a resident’s certificate, according to the act, a requirement that would need revising for them to get universal coverage.
When asked whether the inclusion of Chinese students in the NHI program would weigh down the already cash-strapped system, Wu Ming-hsien (吳明憲), an associate professor at Asia University’s Department of Healthcare Administration and one of the review committee members, said it would not.
There are approximately 500,000 foreign nationals currently in the country, and they pay more premiums than they use, Wu said.
Just as with most other students, Chinese students are young and healthy, he said, adding that only those who are capable of labor go abroad to study and work, and these people “do not get sick easily.”
When asked about overseas Taiwanese using the NHI, Wu said that with the rollout of the second-generation NHI in January last year, 77,000 overseas nationals, who had been outside the country for more than six months, had returned in the period between January and June last year to reactivate their coverage.
Eighteen thousand of them withdrew from the program and left the country after they had used the healthcare service, which cost the NHI about NT$71 million (US$2.3 million), he said.
They paid NT$75 million in premiums, Wu said, adding that they were not benefiting at taxpayers’ expense.
The second-generation NHI allowed an immediate reactivation of coverage for nationals who hold household registration in the country and had been outside the country for more than 183 days, but less than two years, Wu said.
They are required to pay at least three full months of premiums before filing for a withdrawal, even if they are leaving the country the day after using the healthcare service, Wu said.
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