A planned hike in the cost of medical treatment at emergency rooms (ER) of hospitals for mild injuries or illnesses will not apply to late-night admissions starting in January, Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) said yesterday.
Lin made the announcement during a speech at Medical Week, a two-day conference held in Taipei this weekend.
The National Health Insurance Administration on Oct. 7 presented to the Legislative Yuan its plan to increase the cost of emergency visits for mild injuries or illness as a means to normalize the hospital classification system.
In his speech, titled “Medical reform without burdens,” Lin spoke of strategies to improve the hospital classification system, such as enhancing basic medical facilities’ service capabilities, guiding the public to comply with patient referral systems, differentiating treatment copayment fees, reducing mild illness treatment services at medical centers and increasing people’s knowledge of self-care.
He said the cost of treatment at emergency rooms for medical conditions ranging between level 3 and level 5 would be increased from NT$450 to NT$550, adding that the price hike would not apply to treatments between midnight and 6am.
However, Lin said the policy must be approved by the National Health Insurance Committee before it can be put into effect next year.
In addition, he said a NT$6 billion (US$188.7 million) budget would be allocated to pay for critical illness care at regional hospitals and medical centers.
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