Holidays for this Chinese New Year last only 7 days, but many are planning to travel overseas. The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) would like to remind you that if you suddenly experience injury or diseases overseas, thereby requiring immediate medical care there, you may apply for the reimbursement with the respective regional division of the NHIA (for the addresses and phones, see the table below) in the location where the affiliation you are enrolled with on the day of outpatient or emergency care or within six months following hospital discharge. In your application, you should enclose the completed application form for reimbursement of prepaid medical expenses (available for download at the NHIA website); the original copy of the medical care expense receipt and checklist of all expenses; the certificate of diagnosis; and relevant travel records (e.g., exit stamps imprinted by the immigration counter or proofs provided by the service institution). Discharge summaries should also be provided for cases of hospitalization. If you are hospitalized in mainland China for five days (inclusive, but excluding the date of hospital discharge), the certificate of diagnosis and the original copy of the medical expense receipt need to be notarized by a notary public in mainland China and verified by the Straits Exchange Foundation before you submit the application.

    All amounts shall be reimbursed based on receipts, and shall be limited to the mean value paid to a domestic contracted medical center or clinic on a quarterly basis at maximum. For example, the ceiling for reimbursement in the latest quarter (between October and December 2019) is NT$971 per outpatient visit; NT$2,937 per visit to the emergency room; and NT$ 5,271 per day of hospitalization. Therefore, citizens traveling to a country where medical care is relatively expensive may not receive a full reimbursement, and are advised to purchase additional insurance to cover sudden diseases overseas to make up for the insufficiency.

    According to the statistics of NHIA, the top 5 most frequent unexpected injuries and diseases experienced that were treated locally overseas in 2018 were acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), renal failure, acute bronchitis, dental problems, and tonsillitis. For this reason, before going abroad, citizens are advised to maintain a regular schedule, take sufficient rest, keep themselves warm, and have their own face masks or personal medications ready if necessary. This can prevent acute URTI and other acute conditions, thereby ensuring a safe journey abroad. In addition, medical visit and medications records of citizens’ are now available in English on NHIA’s My Health Bank. Citizens are advised to download their personal medical records through My Health Bank before going abroad, so as to provide a reference for doctors when seeking emergency medical care abroad.

(Learn more about how to apply for My Health Bank at: https://www.nhi.gov.tw/Content_List.aspx?n=B0539342591D2343&topn=5FE8C9FEAE863B46)

Addresses and telephones of regional divisions under the NHIA