Clipping Board » Medical Affairs and Administration ─ Medical system, pharmaceuticals, and medical community-related reports
BCC 2011/09/21
Where do the public's health insurance payments go? In addition to the overall budget allocations for various departments, they also include dozens of special health insurance projects. Civil groups criticize that some of these projects have been in a "pilot" phase for an extended period, with staggering increases in funding. It is estimated that next year, these projects will exceed 20 billion NTD, particularly due to the lack of evaluation and exit mechanisms, effectively creating a black hole in healthcare. Even with the introduction of supplementary insurance premiums, the waste cannot be offset. (Reported by Chen Yi-Hua)
The Civil Health Insurance Supervision Alliance pointed out that, for example, in the fiscal year 2011, there were as many as 27 special projects, totaling nearly 16.5 billion NTD. Most of these projects lack effectiveness evaluations, and their budgets have grown alarmingly. Take the seven-year pilot program for chronic hepatitis B and C treatment as an example. Originally, the budget for 2011 was set at 1.439 billion NTD, but this year’s expenditure has reached 2.8 billion NTD. The medical sector spends twice as much as it earns, and next year’s budget is expected to approach 3.5 billion NTD, showing a rapid increase in funding. Similarly, the seven-year pilot program for the Family Physician Integrated Care System, which is difficult to implement yet continues annually, has already cost 7 billion NTD.
The Civil Health Insurance Supervision Alliance strongly criticized these special projects as an alternative medical development fund and a black hole in healthcare. Next year, these projects may exceed 20 billion NTD, and even with the implementation of the new health insurance system, the additional premiums collected will not be enough to cover the waste. Spokesperson Teng Xi-Hua said: "Even if the supplementary insurance premiums for 2012 are collected optimistically throughout the year, they will not be able to fill the loopholes in these special projects. How can we convince the public that there is no waste with such a healthcare black hole? Therefore, we strongly demand that effective projects should be immediately incorporated into the current payment standards, while ineffective projects should be terminated as soon as possible. The medical sector should not treat these special projects as a slush fund."
Additionally, the Alliance mentioned that the revised standards for new hospital setups represent the government’s minimum requirements for healthcare quality. However, hospital representatives recently proposed a 7 billion NTD special fund to cover increased labor costs during health insurance budget negotiations. The Alliance criticized this as putting the cart before the horse—demanding government funding to meet basic quality standards. They urged the Department of Health not to allow hospitals to make unreasonable demands unchecked.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 110921/ 1/ 2z3yl. html
Public Slams Lack of Evaluation and Exit Mechanism in Healthcare Insurance Projects
Where do the public's health insurance payments go? In addition to the overall budget allocations for various departments, they also include dozens of special health insurance projects. Civil groups criticize that some of these projects have been in a "pilot" phase for an extended period, with staggering increases in funding. It is estimated that next year, these projects will exceed 20 billion NTD, particularly due to the lack of evaluation and exit mechanisms, effectively creating a black hole in healthcare. Even with the introduction of supplementary insurance premiums, the waste cannot be offset. (Reported by Chen Yi-Hua)
The Civil Health Insurance Supervision Alliance pointed out that, for example, in the fiscal year 2011, there were as many as 27 special projects, totaling nearly 16.5 billion NTD. Most of these projects lack effectiveness evaluations, and their budgets have grown alarmingly. Take the seven-year pilot program for chronic hepatitis B and C treatment as an example. Originally, the budget for 2011 was set at 1.439 billion NTD, but this year’s expenditure has reached 2.8 billion NTD. The medical sector spends twice as much as it earns, and next year’s budget is expected to approach 3.5 billion NTD, showing a rapid increase in funding. Similarly, the seven-year pilot program for the Family Physician Integrated Care System, which is difficult to implement yet continues annually, has already cost 7 billion NTD.
The Civil Health Insurance Supervision Alliance strongly criticized these special projects as an alternative medical development fund and a black hole in healthcare. Next year, these projects may exceed 20 billion NTD, and even with the implementation of the new health insurance system, the additional premiums collected will not be enough to cover the waste. Spokesperson Teng Xi-Hua said: "Even if the supplementary insurance premiums for 2012 are collected optimistically throughout the year, they will not be able to fill the loopholes in these special projects. How can we convince the public that there is no waste with such a healthcare black hole? Therefore, we strongly demand that effective projects should be immediately incorporated into the current payment standards, while ineffective projects should be terminated as soon as possible. The medical sector should not treat these special projects as a slush fund."
Additionally, the Alliance mentioned that the revised standards for new hospital setups represent the government’s minimum requirements for healthcare quality. However, hospital representatives recently proposed a 7 billion NTD special fund to cover increased labor costs during health insurance budget negotiations. The Alliance criticized this as putting the cart before the horse—demanding government funding to meet basic quality standards. They urged the Department of Health not to allow hospitals to make unreasonable demands unchecked.
Source: http://tw. news. yahoo. com/ article/ url/ d/ a/ 110921/ 1/ 2z3yl. html