The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) on Wednesday said that if people traveling abroad over the Lunar New Year sustain injuries, become sick or give birth, they can apply for a medical reimbursement within six months of visiting a hospital or doctor.
NHIA staff member Lin You-chun (林右鈞) said reimbursements are based on verifiable expenses, with the average cost paid to hospitals with whom the NHIA has special contracts.
Patients should submit an application form, a copy of the diagnosis, the original receipt and itemized bill, and evidence of their exit and re-entry to Taiwan, Lin said.
Lin said that the documents could be mailed or delivered personally to any NHIA branch of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
An option for online applications is also available, but applicants would have to mail the required documents to an NHIA office, Lin added.
If people sustain injuries or become ill, or give birth in China and need to stay in a local hospital for more than five days, they would need to have the receipt and diagnosis notarized in China, which would then be verified by the Straits Exchange Foundation, Lin said.
Statistics for these payouts are stable and do not fluctuate year-on-year, and people can use this information as a template, Lin said.
Lin cited statistics from October to December last year, saying that the average cost for a clinic visit was NT$1,159 (US$37.74), a visit to an emergency room was NT$2,841 and hospitalization cost NT$6,796 per day.
Although everyone with National Health Insurance (NHI) traveling abroad is guaranteed medical reimbursements, the payouts are considered compensatory and would not cover the total cost, Lin said.
Those traveling to countries with higher medical costs than Taiwan should consider buying additional overseas medical insurance to cover the expenses.
Fewer people traveled abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic, which reflects the lower number of reimbursements in recent years.
Statistics for 2021 showed 16,033 people being treated medically overseas, with a total reimbursement payout of NT$15.19 million, while there were 2,065 overseas visits to emergency rooms, with NT$17.65 million in payouts, Lin said.
There were 3,325 cases of overseas hospitalization in 2021, costing the NHI program NT$115.93 million, Lin said.
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