Job Discussion Forums

[mep3]

My understanding is that Taiwan�s national health insurance is pretty good. I�ve also seen a couple statements saying that Taiwan�s national health insurance provides good but �basic� cover. I�m wondering what is meant by �basic?� As opposed to non-basic. Does anyone know? Here are a couple statements:

�Demand for private health insurance in Taiwan is increasing rapidly, thanks to the high growth rate of Taiwan's per capita GDP, longer life expectancy and public concerns about coverage of the national health insurance plan, as this scheme provides only basic medical care.�

--http://www.allianzworldwidecare.com/EN/Geninfo/NHS/taiwan.php?country=Taiwan


�...Remember to factor in the other benefits (although not all chain schools offer all). E.g. job security, training, teaching a variety of age groups, welfare staff (take care of your legal paperwork, help you find accommodation, help and advise you when you run into any type of difficulty), options to join the company insurance/additional health schemes (in addition to the government scheme which provides fairly good but basic cover), academic support, interest free loans (really helps for house deposits), ability to book holiday when it suits YOU (chain schools will also usually find the cover teacher for you), organize social events. Non chain schools don�t have the resources to offer this size/scope of package.�

--from Taiwan forum thread, �Help! Can I afford to live in Taipei?�

[TaoyuanSteve]

Not sure where you got the quote from, but most Taiwanese are more than satisfied with the NHI. It covers most things from doctors visits to dentistry. It won't cover you for the full cost of hospitalization. You can buy private insurance for those things NHI doesn't cover or doesn't cover completely.

[mep3]

Yeah, I've seen that the approval ratings for the NHI are pretty high -- somewhere around 70% I recall. "Basic" probably refers to those things it doesn't cover. I'm just wondering what kinds of things they are.

Mep

[TaoyuanSteve]

There really aren't that many day to day things that aren't covered. However, of particular concern is the fact that hospital stays will cost you. These costs are nowhere near what they would be somewhere like the USA, but they are of concern enough to consider supplemental insurance.

[mep3]

I've seen some of the prices for hospital stays that foreign teachers listed. They didn't look that bad to me. I'm just concerned about having it for really catastrophic coverage. So I'm wondering if it covers most major procedures and major operations, or whether it's quite limited that way, and is that the meaning of "basic." I wouldn't be too worried about the co-pay for an operation. Mep

[mep3]

I read somewhere that Taiwan citizens have the longest life expectancy of any in the world, second only to Switzerland or some place like that. So they must be doing something right. Mep

[craigzy]

i thought the japanese lived the longest?

[BigWally]

http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa042000b.htm

Taiwan is decent, but nowhere near #1

[forest1979]

Unless you're planning to live in a field in the middle of nowhere and intend to have a triple bypass in the coming months I wouldn't fret. In the big cities the health service in Taiwan is very good. In fact it's a damn sight better in terms of quality and cost than most health service in the allegedly developed 'West'.

[tedkarma]

My wife had some serious health problems while we were living in Taipei.

We ended up at the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital - and they did an EXCELLENT job of taking care of her.

Not to worry if you are in urban centers - rural areas are doubtful, no matter what country!

[Miyazaki]