The growing number of Taiwanese visitors to China in recent years has meant an increasing need for overseas medical care, the National Health Insurance (NHI) Administration said.
Tourists to China accounted for the largest proportion of applications for the NHI’s overseas emergency medical expenses reimbursements last year.
According to agency data, of the 127,527 reimbursement requests it approved last year, about 80 percent — or 101,533 applications — were filed by Taiwanese visitors to China, up from 99,479 requests in 2012.
Reimbursements granted to people who visited China totaled about NT$235 million (US$7.83 million), accounting for nearly 70 percent of the total of NT$323 million allocated by the administration last year, data showed.
Trailing behind China in terms of destinations with the greatest applications is Thailand with 4,295 requests, the US with 4,265 applications, Hong Kong with 4,056 cases and Singapore with 2,215 requests, data showed.
Ranked after China in terms of largest reimbursement amount totals is the US on NT$20.8 million, followed by Thailand on NT$12.4 million, Japan on NT$10.67 million and Hong Kong on NT$7.08 million, the data showed.
The data also showed that the three most common emergency medical ailments suffered by Taiwanese travelers last year were acute upper respiratory infections at 33 percent, acute bronchitis at 7 percent and dental-related diseases at 6 percent.
The agency’s Medical Administration Section director Lin Bao-feng (林寶鳳) said people insured under the NHI program who experienced medical emergencies while traveling can apply for reimbursement as long as they submit their original medical bill, a medical certificate and a copy of their travel documents.
“However, those who are admitted into a hospital in China for more than five days must have the aforementioned documents notarized by a Chinese notary office and verified by the Straits Exchange Foundation before they can submit their reimbursement request,” he added.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS