News
Plan to cap medical device expenses scrapped
The government has suspended a plan to cap the amounts patients pay out-of-pocket for certain special medical devices. The move follows strong opposition from the medical sector.
The new policy was scheduled to go into effect on 1 August. However, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says the policy has now been suspended following talks with representatives from the medical sector.
The National Health Insurance Administration published a list on 8 June of its approved maximum out-of-pocket expenses patients could pay for 352 items in eight medical device categories, ranging from intraocular lenses to drug-eluting coronary artery stents.
And the administration had said that as of 1 August contracted hospitals and clinics would be banned from charging amounts higher than the published ceilings.
That sparked a backlash from the healthcare sector, which argued that setting caps would stop medical device businesses from introducing premium products due to cost limitations.
