Mr. Chiang Been-huang (蔣丙煌), Minister of Health and Welfare;
Honored guests and friends from the media;
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning!
I'm very happy to be here for today's 2015 Global Health Forum in Taiwan, and on behalf of the government and the people of the Republic of China, I extend to you a very warm welcome.
The focus of this year's forum is Public Health Governance, a very timely topic because countries around the world are now facing public health issues like aging populations, lower birth rates, and healthcare management. So in every country, government leaders are being tested, to see if they can respond with effective solutions. Here in Taiwan, our government has responded with an extremely successful public health policy, the National Health Insurance program, or "NHI" for short, which is a single-payer health insurance program.
The core values of Taiwan's NHI guarantee people's equal rights to medical care, and economic equality. Providing equal rights to medical care protects people from falling into poverty due to medical costs. Providing economic equality protects people from falling ill due to a lack of funds. Since it was launched in 1995, we have set up a health insurance system with the lowest administrative costs, combined with the broadest eligibility, in the world. The most outstanding characteristic of that system is its virtually universal coverage. The NHI coverage rate has reached 99.6%, and if half a million migrant workers are included, the percentage would be over 100%. Average life expectancy for Taiwan citizens has grown from 74.5 years in 1995 to almost 80 years in 2014.
A second special feature of Taiwan's NHI is a high level of equality in obtaining medical treatment. The system not only removes barriers to healthcare access, but also allows low-income households to get appropriate medical care. A third important feature of our system is its satisfaction rate, which over the past few years has consistently been close to 80%, one of the highest satisfaction ratings among the government's public policies.
These NHI system achievements—universal coverage, convenient and equal access, affordable premiums, appropriate quality of care, low administrative costs, and a high level of public satisfaction—have become Taiwan's most precious asset, and received extensive coverage in the international media. In the November 7, 2005 edition of The New York Times, 2008 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences and Princeton University Professor Paul Krugman wrote an editorial that he titled "Pride, Prejudice, Insurance." In that editorial, he publicly praised Taiwan's National Health Insurance system for reaching our goal of universal coverage—without significantly raising healthcare costs.
We in Taiwan are very happy to share our successful experiences with other countries. Last year, former Minister of Health (now the Ministry of Health and Welfare) Ching-Chuan Yeh (葉金川) was invited to testify at US Senate congressional hearings, where he talked about the achievements and successes of Taiwan's health insurance system. Given that national health insurance was such a hot topic in the US at that time, Professor Yeh's testimony was certainly a valuable point of reference.
Based on the premise that we want to provide health insurance and maintain a sound financial structure, our NHI guarantees people from overseas who enter Taiwan legally, and Taiwan citizens, the fundamental right to health care on an equal basis. So when the system was first implemented back in 1995, foreign workers and citizens both became eligible to participate in the system at the same time.
In 1999 and 2001, we also amended our National Health Insurance Act. The Act now provides that all non-employed foreign nationals and students who have established a registered domicile in Taiwan for a specified period of time and also possess the required ID documents, as well as spouses of Taiwan nationals who come from mainland China, Hong Kong or Macao, are all insured under the NHI.
We in Taiwan also care about the right to health of inmates in our prisons and correctional institutions. As the minister of justice the year the NHI program was introduced, I was very concerned about that issue. But at that point, inmates were excluded from the NHI. So after I became president in 2008, we pushed for second-generation amendments to the National Health Insurance Act. Some of those amendments were designed to enhance the medical resources of correctional institutions and guarantee inmates the right to health, and our governing and opposition parties gradually reached a consensus. After our Second Generation NHI was launched in January of 2013, all inmates in domestic prisons and correctional institutions were finally insured. Granting the right to receive medical treatment to all of the inmates in Taiwan was an important milestone.
The people's health isn't the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Welfare alone. It requires the full, concerted efforts of the government and the people as a whole. So I do hope that today's forum will spark new and innovative thinking, along with pragmatic approaches, so that together we can create a healthier future for one and all.
Let me share with you a personal experience of mine. When I studied in the United States 40 years ago, relating to health insurance, I had a torn meniscus as a result of vigorous exercise and had an orthopedic operation on my right knee. The operation cost me US$3,000 and my student insurance plan covered only half. As you know, US$1,500 in 1975 was a lot of money to a poor foreign student. Fortunately, the orthopedic doctor understood my difficulty and allowed me to use an installment plan, which allowed me to pay US$10 a month. I took more than seven years to pay it all. I was lucky to have such a considerate and kind-hearted doctor. But you don't meet that kind of doctor everywhere in the world. Now in Taiwan this kind of thing will never happen. We will do our utmost to help every patient get appropriate medical care. This is a very important advancement.
Last but not least, I would suggest that you squeeze some time out of your very busy schedule to visit the National Palace Museum to see the art treasures of the last 40 centuries collected by dozens of Chinese emperors. There you will understand our past. Then you should visit the night markets in Taipei City to sense real life today in Taiwan, and try a variety of tasty local snacks.
I leave you with my best wishes for a successful forum, and hope you all enjoy the very best of health.
Thank you very much!