{"id":22677,"date":"2019-11-08T02:00:59","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T01:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/?p=22677"},"modified":"2022-02-21T21:56:34","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T20:56:34","slug":"health-insurance-in-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saporedicina.com\/english\/health-insurance-in-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Choose Your Travel Insurance for Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Health<\/p>\n

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Health Insurance in Taiwan for Travelers – Index<\/h3>\n
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  1. Why do I need health insurance when traveling to Taiwan?<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. The healthcare system in Taiwan<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Hospitals in Taiwan<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. What insurance do we recommend?<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. What should a good health insurance policy cover?<\/a>\n
  6. What to do if you need medical attention?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Note<\/strong>: If you are only interested on getting a free quotation for a travel insurance, then we recommend World Nomads (click here to get your free quotation)<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Why do I need health insurance when traveling to Taiwan?<\/h2>\n

    Foreign travelers are not required to have health insurance when visiting Taipei<\/a>, or Taiwan in general. This is the standard in most Asian countries and regions, including Thailand<\/a> and Hong Kong. <\/p>\n

    Even if Taiwan\u2019s public healthcare system is renown for being available to the masses and inexpensive, travelers are not covered by its national health insurance system (NHI). Thus, it can make great sense for travelers to buy insurance before visiting Taiwan<\/a>. <\/p>\n

    Despite being a safe destination with low crime rates, you don\u2019t know if you\u2019ll get sick unexpectedly or experience an accident. Having a tropical climate, foreigners and locals risk to get tropical diseases<\/a> like dengue fever (which there\u2019s no vaccination for), Japanese encephalitis, and enterovirus, for example.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    You should also keep in mind that there are differences between Taiwanese hospitals and Western hospitals, which often come as a surprise. You shouldn\u2019t expect that nurses will take care of you 24\/7 as friends or family members normally take care of hospitalized persons.<\/p>\n

    The hospital might not even give you bedding and towels, as this will be provided by someone who visits you. If you buy insurance that allows private medical care, you can expect English speaking nurses, doctors and a higher quality of care.<\/p>\n

    The healthcare system in Taiwan<\/h2>\n

    As mentioned, expats and locals (and sometimes students) are obliged to join Taiwan\u2019s national health insurance (NHI) program. Simply put, it\u2019s a mandatory program where the government accumulate taxes to make sure that payers are covered by public healthcare.<\/p>\n

    As of 2004, 99% of the population was covered by this social insurance scheme. The NHI was introduced in 1995 and has made healthcare affordable and is proclaimed to cover every citizen.<\/p>\n

    Even if the NHI is highly-acclaimed with over 80% supporting the system, it\u2019s also facing issues. One outspoken reason is that the system is open for misuse. For example, 20% of persons who go for CR scans don\u2019t even come back to get the results.<\/p>\n

    The patients don\u2019t care as healthcare is cheap, they can visit several hospitals to get checked. At the same time, the hospitals are covered in terms of tax funding.<\/p>\n

    The government also allocates way less funding for its public healthcare compared to other OECD countries. So it\u2019s neither superior nor bad.<\/p>\n

    We also see problems with the NHI due to Taiwan\u2019s aging population, more chronic diseases and obesity, the quality of the medical care and irritable doctors.<\/p>\n

    Interestingly, most of Taiwan\u2019s health clinics and hospitals are privately owned. In 2016, 83% of hospitals and 98% of the health clinics were privately owned. There were 490 hospitals and 21,894 health clinics available as of the same year.<\/p>\n

    Hospitals in Taiwan<\/h2>\n

    You\u2019ll find two kinds of hospitals in Taiwan: Public or private.<\/p>\n

    Public hospitals<\/h3>\n

    Taiwanese citizens and foreigners who stay in Taiwan for at least four months are required to enroll in the NHI-system which funds the operations of public hospitals. <\/p>\n

    Yet, as we\u2019ve seen above, there are significantly fewer public hospitals and medical centers compared to private dittos.<\/p>\n

    Even if public hospitals offer a wide range of services, waiting times are often longer and doctors don\u2019t always speak English. Expats who have the opportunity to look for more premium options at private facilities often do so.<\/p>\n

    With that said, many still choose public hospitals thanks to the heavy subsidies. <\/p>\n

    Private hospitals<\/h3>\n

    Public hospitals offer world-class services and you can often expect the same standards as in American or European hospitals. However, keep in mind that you\u2019ll get less attention from nurses as it\u2019s expected that family members or friends will take care of you. <\/p>\n

    Besides, quality private hospitals have shorter waiting times and you\u2019ll be assured to get better patient care and there are more treatment options. If you have the opportunity to go to a private clinic, you should have it as an option.<\/p>\n

    You\u2019ll find various private hospitals in the major cities who solely focus on the expat market. <\/p>\n

    List of private international hospitals in Taipei<\/h3>\n

    Wang Fang Hospital<\/strong><\/p>\n