Foreign spouses and Chinese spouses who are not yet covered by National Health Insurance will be able to start applying for governmental reimbursement for pregnancy checkups within a few weeks, said the Department of Health.
Pregnancy
According to the Bureau of Health Promotion at the Department of Health, foreign spouses who have lived in Taiwan for less than four months may not participate in the National Health Insurance program, so the department will subsidize the costs incurred by pregnancy checkups during that initial period -- NT$600 per medical appointment, and up to five visits per pregnancy.
In July, the Cabinet set aside a budget of NT$3 billion over the next 10 years to create a fund dedicated to the care of foreign and Chinese spouses in various areas, such as health, education, personal safety, adjustment and employment.
On March 8 this year, the Ministry of the Interior promulgated the Foreign Spouse Care Fund Management Fund (外籍配偶照顧輔導基金補助作業要點), which specifies the areas for which foreign spouses are able to seek reimbursement from the government.
Costs incurred by pregnancy checkups will be covered by this special government fund.
The application procedure for pregnancy checkup reimbursement will be available in the near future.
"Once all the details have been mapped out, which is likely to be within the next few weeks, the Department of Health will widely publicize them so that foreign spouses will receive all the necessary information," said Liu Chiong-ying (劉瓊瑛) yesterday, an administrative officer in the women and children's unit of the bureau.
Lottery-funded
In places such as Chunghwa and Hualien, the city and county governments have already begun this particular reimbursement program, which is funded by lottery revenue.
According to the ministry's Department of Household Registration, reimbursement for pregnancy checkups is under the administration of city and county governments.
According to Department of Health statistics, on average there are about 300,000 pregnancies per year where nine percent of the pregnant women are not covered by National Health Insurance.
Contraception
In addition to pregnancy checkups, foreign spouses may also seek reimbursement for medical costs incurred by contraception procedures.
Under the new act, a female foreign spouse who gets a hysterectomy is entitled to receive NT$10,000 in reimbursement, a male foreign spouse for a vasectomy NT$2,500 and reimbursement for the use of an intrauterine device will be NT$1,000.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS