Taiwan’s Progress on Health Care

JULY 27, 2012, 6:00 AM

Taiwan’s Progress on Health Care

By UWE E. REINHARDT

Uwe E. Reinhardt is an economics professor at Princeton. He has some financial interests in the health care field.

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Several years ago I wrote "Humbled in Taiwan," a commentary for The British Medical Journal.

The piece was prompted by a conversation between a health services researcher and the head of health information technology of Taiwan's Bureau of National Health Insurance, which administers Taiwan's single-payer national health insurance system. By that time, virtually all of Taiwan's claims were billed electronically.

Is Taiwan Asia's Next One-Stop Plastic-Surgery Shop?

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http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2004023,00.html 

Overseas Taiwanese who frequently return to the island might recommend savoring succulent street food or exploring Taipei's boisterous night markets. Or they may pass along the business card of a favorite plastic surgeon or dermatologist.
And why not? Taiwan has long been popular with its expatriate population as a medical-travel destination.

At Taipei's abundant health care facilities, the equipment is modern and sophisticated, and most
importantly, prices are considered a steal. Some of the biggest savings are in liver-transplant surgery, which runs to around $91,000, compared with some $300,000 in the U.S. 

Price tags like that have built a small but devoted following for Taiwan's niche medical-tourism market, and it's about to get a lot more customers. Taiwan's neighbors across the strait have been making their way to the island for a nip or a tuck since travel restrictions for Chinese tourists were lifted in mid-2008. Now, in the latest of a series of agreements and concessions between China and Taiwan, Taipei announced last week that Chinese tourists will soon be allowed to travel individually to the island — a development that many medical-tourism proponents are hoping will be a boon to their industry.