A total of 205 hospitals or clinics in Taipei increased their registration fee last year, most of them between NT$200 and NT$300 per outpatient visit, Taipei Department of Health data showed.
EBC News on Thursday last week reported that many clinics across the country announced that they would be raising their registration fee by NT$50 after the Lunar New Year holiday, making the cost of an outpatient visit NT$250 to NT$300.
Data from the six special municipalities’ health departments showed that 375 clinics had raised their registration fee over the past year, including 156 clinics in Taipei, ECB News reported.
Photo courtesy of Tainan Municipal Hospital
Under the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s regulations, healthcare facilities that plan to raise their registration fee for outpatient visits to more than NT$150 must report the move to the local health department.
Taipei Department of Health data showed that 205 hospitals and clinics had reported raising their outpatient registration fee over the past year, 94 of which raised their fee between Jan. 1 and Feb. 7.
The majority raised registration fees to NT$200 to NT$300, but the registration fees at 18 healthcare facilities were raised to more than NT$500, with the highest being NT$2,500.
Hospitals or clinics might raise their outpatient registration fee due to increases in rent, water, electricity, personnel and administrative costs, the department said, adding that some might also hike their fee to make up for a shortage of income from National Health Insurance (NHI) payments.
Taiwan Primary Care Association president Lin Yung-zen (林應然), who operates a clinic in Taipei, on Friday said that many of his peers are raising their outpatient registration fee to NT$200.
As prices and personnel costs are increasing, and NHI payments for medical services have not been raised in many years, with NHI payment points for medical services even being cut at times, the registration fee hikes are an inevitable trend, he said.
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