The CNN special report “Global Lessons—The GPS Road Map to Saving Health Care” has been helpful in introducing Taiwan’s outstanding national health insurance system to the rest of the world, the Department of Health said April 18.
The report on the weekly public affairs program “Fareed Zakaria GPS,” broadcast in the U.S. March 18 and internationally March 24, compared health insurance systems in several countries and examined how to use their good points to improve the U.S. system.
The Taiwan segment included an interview with Harvard economist William Hsiao, one of the architect’s of the island’s national health insurance regime, as well as a visit to Taipei City’s Wan Fang Hospital for an up-close look at the system in action.
The report noted that within one year of the beginning of Taiwan’s single-payer National Health Insurance in 1995, the country’s uninsured population dropped from 41 percent to just 8 percent, the department said.
According to the report, the plan created a high-standard and low-cost medical care system accessible to all, the DOH pointed out.
In addition, the report said every person covered by NHI carries a smart card that contains basic patient information and billing records, which helps to monitor costs and effectively control spending.
In the report, Zakaria noted that health care expenses in Taiwan amount to roughly 7 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product, which is well below the 11 percent for Switzerland and 17 percent for the U.S., where the percentage of the population covered is lower, infant mortality is higher and dissatisfaction with the system is also higher.
Taiwan’s NHI system provides an important model from which the U.S. can learn in working to reform its own health care, the DOH quoted Zakaria as saying during the program.
The department said the report offered a rare introduction to Taiwan’s health insurance system for an international audience, and opened opportunities for Taiwan to share its successful experience with other nations. (SB-THN)