President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday lauded the achievements and impact of the National Health Insurance (NHI) system ahead of the 30th anniversary of its introduction as a compulsory health insurance program.
“Thank you to the NHI system and the various functions it has served over the past 30 years — it is like a ‘guardian mountain’ that safeguards the nation, protecting everyone’s health under the system,” Lai said at a symposium held in Taipei to discuss the sustainable development of the NHI system ahead of its 30th anniversary on March 1.
Lai, a former physician, in his opening speech said that before the implementation of the NHI system, many people in Taiwan fell into a vicious cycle of illness and financial hardship, where “poverty led to illness, and illness, in turn, led to poverty,” causing widespread social problems.
Photo: screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr
One example he raised was how, in the past, a single illness in a family could prevent children from continuing their education, as medical expenses consumed a significant portion of household income.
Lai said that almost all social issues caused by health-related burdens have been resolved over the past 30 years due to the NHI system, which he praised as a crucial mechanism for “social redistribution.”
“It [the NHI system] enables everyone to embrace the spirit of mutual support and insurance, while also incorporating elements of social welfare through government participation,” he said.
Noting that the NHI system currently has a coverage rate of about 99 percent, the president said: “No other country in the world has a health insurance system with such a high proportion [of coverage].”
In terms of international recognition, Lai, who has been pushing the “Healthy Taiwan” policy initiative since taking office in May last year, said that Taiwan’s healthcare system has ranked first in the world for six consecutive years, citing the Health Care Index by the online database Numbeo.
The index evaluates the overall quality of a nation’s healthcare system, including factors such as healthcare professionals, equipment, staff, doctors and costs, as shown on Numbeo’s Web site.
However, Lai acknowledged the challenges facing the NHI system, noting a current shortage of medical professionals across multiple specialties, particularly in internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, and obstetrics and gynecology.
“If this issue remains unresolved in the long run, it will inevitably be detrimental to the public,” Lai said, without providing suggestions on how to address the problem.
In a documentary screened at the symposium, it was noted that after the COVID-19 pandemic, a considerable number of doctors opted to open private clinics or shift to aesthetic medicine, which is not covered by the NHI system and is paid for by patients themselves, to “escape the constraints” of the system.
The film highlighted that recruiting talent for certain specialties remains a challenge, particularly in fields related to life-saving medical services, such as intensive care.
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