Taiwan's NHI Budget to Surpass NT$1 Trillion Next Year

Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) program is on track to surpass 1 trillion New Taiwan dollars in its total budget for the upcoming year, marking a historic high. The draft budget for 2027, released yesterday, projects a growth rate between 2.619% and 5.5%. Regardless of whether the higher or lower estimate is adopted, the NHI budget will exceed the trillion-dollar mark.

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Next year's NHI total budget is estimated to exceed one trillion, a new record high.

This figure excludes government budget contributions. The draft budget will be submitted to the Executive Yuan for review, with total budget negotiations scheduled for September. In the current year, the NHI budget reached 988.3 billion New Taiwan dollars, with a 5.5% growth rate, bringing its actual scale to 1.082 trillion New Taiwan dollars after government contributions.

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The growth rate for next year's NHI is estimated to be 5.5% at the high end and 2.619% at the low end; regardless of the estimate, the NHI total budget will exceed one trillion.

Representatives from the medical sector expressed support for the projected growth rate. Zhu Yihong, chairman of the Taiwan Community Hospitals Association, believes that maintaining a 5.5% growth rate will help address the long-standing issue of low payment standards. He noted that the association is reviewing items with low payment standards for potential adjustments.

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The growth rate of the NHI budget in recent years has almost reached the high estimate level, and the point value has also increased this year. If the NHI budget growth rate can be maintained at 5.5% next year, it will help improve the long-term low payment standard situation.

However, Lin Yahui, executive director of the Health Reform Association of Taiwan, criticized the current negotiation process. She argued that the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has repeatedly made high-level decisions on the budget, rendering the negotiation mechanism superficial. Lin also cautioned against relying on non-standard financial sources like government budgets, urging a return to scientific and rational negotiations for the NHI budget and a review of the current financial and negotiation mechanisms.

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The negotiation mechanism has become a mere formality, and the communication and coordination functions of the NHI committee have become obsolete.