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National Health Insurance

BACKGROUND

Enforcement Rules of the National Health Insurance Act: “A person staying in Taiwan for six full months prescribed in Subparagraph 1 of Article 9 of the Act refers to a person who has, after entering into Taiwan, stayed in Taiwan for six consecutive months or exited Taiwan once for fewer than 30 days with the actual period of stay amounting to six months after the number of days that he or she has been away from Taiwan is deducted.”

ABOUT NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE (NHI)
National Health Insurance is compulsory social insurance to provide health security to all citizens via a mutual system. Under this program, all insureds have equal rights to access medical care when they get sick, are injured, or give birth.
ENROLLMENT REGULATION
According to Article 9 of the National Health Insurance Act: any foreign national who has an alien resident certificate (ARC) in the Taiwan area, must meet one of the following requirements to become the beneficiaries of NHI:
A. Those with a regular employer (Work permit required)
B. Those who have resided in Taiwan for over 6 consecutive months or exit Taiwan once for fewer than 30 days with the actual period of stay amounting to 6 months after the number of days of being away from Taiwan is deducted.
Foreign students who are qualified as beneficiaries must participate in the NHI program with a proper category by the enrollment priority, besides, a beneficiary who is qualified as an insured cannot choose to be a dependent of their spouse or their parents.

Here are some examples to help you understand the definition of 6 months:

Example1: (yyyy/mm/dd)

2018/09/26 Enter Taiwan with a resident visa

2019/02/01 Departure for other countries

2019/02/10 Enter Taiwan (staying for 9 days in other countries)  

2019/04/04 Eligible for National Health Insurance; original enrollment date of NHI (03 / 26) is postponed for 9 days

Example 2:

2018/09/26 Enter Taiwan with a resident visa

2019/01/20 Departure for other countries

2019/02/22 Enter Taiwan (staying for more than 30 days in other countries)  

2019/08/22 Eligible for National Health Insurance (6 months after the second entry). Before being eligible for NHI, you will be required to join the Group Medical Insurance.

Example 3:

2018/09/26 Enter Taiwan with a resident visa

2018/11/10 Departure for other countries for a few days (first time)

2019/02/01 Departure for other countries for a few days (second time)

2019/02/10 Enter Taiwan (the second time within the first six months)

2019/08/10 Eligible for National Health Insurance (6 months after the second entry). Before being eligible for NHI, you will be required to join the Group Medical Insurance)

NHI PREMIUM EXPENSE

The average premium for individuals in category 6 is NT1,377 per month, with 60%( NT$826) paid by the insured and 40% subsidized by the government. For Insured in category 1 (wage earners), premiums are based on their salary basis which is reported by their insured units (employer) corresponding to the insured’s monthly wage income.

PAYMENT

  1. The health insurance premium is NT$ 4,956 per semester (NT$826 per month) and should be included in the tuition fee every semester.  
  2. Insurance duration: the first semester starts from August until January of next year, and the second semester begins from February until July of the same year.  

NOTICE

  1. The students suspending or dropping out of studies shall go to the Office of International Affairs for your refund and the termination procedure.
  2. The students who still stay in Taiwan after suspending or dropping out of studies or graduation within the validity period of their residence permit may continue their insurance at the township (county, city, or district) office they reside by presenting the health insurance transfer note issued by the school and the copy of their national health insurance termination (transfer-out) declaration.
  3. In case of any accidental injury or disease occurring to the insured during the winter or summer vacation when they go back to their foreign resident homes, they may present the diagnosis certificate and detailed receipts to the Bureau of National Health Insurance and request for the refund of their prepaid medical costs within six months.
  4. For the application for a new card due to a mistake or change in the student's name, residence permit number, birth date or photo, or loss of the old card, the student shall apply OIA. The renewal fee is NT$200.
  5. The international students who schedule to leave Taiwan for more than six months during the study period may apply for insurance suspension before their departure. In this case, their health insurance premium can be exempted during the insurance suspension period. However, the students shall apply to their school for resuming the insurance in their entry into Taiwan. Please visit here for more information. 
  6. After you enroll in NHI through CGU, if you work at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital as a part-time research assistant, please inform OIA. OIA will need to withdraw NHI for you to avoid duplication of NHI.

For more information, please visit the Bureau of National Health Insurance or contact us.