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Taiwan to reduce requirements to hire caregivers
Premier Chen Chien-jen says the government will make it easier for those in need to hire a foreign caregiver.
At a press conference held after a weekly cabinet meeting, cabinet spokesman Lin Tze-luen said Chen had pledged to create simpler pathways for families needing to hire a foreign caregiver and had already instructed the relevant agencies to review current regulations.
According to Lin, the premier said that the government would not only review the current functionality assessment, the Barthel Index, but would also develop more flexible methods to assess the status of those in need.
Currently, elderly and severely ill citizens in Taiwan are required to be assessed by the Barthel Index if they wish to hire a foreign caregiver. And health officials say the government does not plan to completely abandon the Barthel Index, but to combine it with various other indexes, and to ensure adjustments are made in cases where individuals fail to meet the threshold.
