Lawmaker questions high dialysis, respiratory spending

Holding a press conference about an examination of the allocation of national health insurance (NHI) resources in Taiwan, Huang Huang-hsiung said about 70,000 patients have accounted for between 12.5 and 13.28 percent of NHI premiums collected from all participants in the program.

Huang said he will continue the investigation to find out if there are any abuses of NHI funds in a final report to be released in December.

A growing number of religious organizations have suggested a serious rethink needs to be undertaken over the waste of excess medical resources on “ineffective medical treatment” for artificially prolonging many lives with little hope for cure in Taiwan, Huang said

He said it's high time to review the practice of offering excess spending on treatment for terminally ill patients and the revision of regulations to put medical resources to better use. Huang said he personally supports an earlier implementation of the second generation of the NHI system that allows a raise in NHI premiums from households with higher incomes to ensure the viability of the NHI finances.

In response, Tsai Shu-ling, an official at the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) under the Department of Health, acknowledged that the cost of providing

dialysis for more than 60,000 patients with kidney problems amounted to NT$30.6 billion in 2009, accounting for 6.33 percent of all NHI medical costs.

The spending for more than 10,000 patients in need of respiratory care treatment reached NT$24.29 billion, accounting for 4.76 percent of total costs.

Tsai said this medical expenditure was spent because it is a primary goal for the NHI program to take care of people with serious ailments. Most patients are unable to pay the high medical costs for such treatment, she added.

But the BNHI has been taking various measures to help reduce the financial burden of the NHI system while not compromising the rights and interests of patients.

The bureau has been encouraging the families of patients to rent or lease the necessary equipment so that they can provide care for the patients, Tsai said.

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