Taiwan’s national health insurer raises hospital payouts across critical care services

Nursing and inpatient care receives the largest allocation at NT$2.137b.

Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) has raised payments across paediatric services, childbirth, inpatient nursing and major surgeries, aiming to better reflect healthcare workers' contributions and improve care quality.

Nursing and inpatient care gets the largest boost, worth $67.3m (NT$2.137b). Payments for acute and special beds rise 5%, chronic bed and chronic psychiatric bed fees rise 10%, and the remote-area add-on for acute general beds rises from 15% to 30%.

Obstetrics and gynaecology receives $55.7m (NT$1.77b). Childbirth reimbursement rises 50%, high-risk obstetric surgery payments double, and difficult deliveries triple, benefiting an estimated 110,000 maternity patients.

High-risk cases such as amniotic fluid embolism will move from the Diagnosis Related Group system to fee-for-service reimbursement.

Paediatric care gets $7.3m (NT$231m), including a 10% add-on for inpatient consultations by paediatric specialists for under-19s and higher payments for 15 cardiac catheterisation and surgery items.

Neurosurgery receives $9.4m (NT$300m): 11 central nervous system procedures will now be reimbursed in full, rather than at 50%, when performed as a second procedure through the same incision for multiple-trauma patients with catastrophic illness certification.

Plastic surgery gets $9.1m (NT$290m), with burn treatment payments rising from 4,431 to 17,854 points to 10,319 to 33,916 points.

Gastrointestinal surgery receives $8.2m (NT$260m), with 21 procedures rising to 58,955 to 206,610 points. 

Cancer-related colorectal surgery gets $6.9m (NT$220m), with payments up 15% to 218%. Orthopaedics receives $2.2m (NT$70m), adding two new covered procedures.

NHIA director general Lian-Yu Chen said adjustments would continue in line with the Healthy Taiwan policy, based on clinical practice and workforce needs.

($1.00 = NT$31.75)