The Taipei Times reports that holiday dialysis reimbursement procedures have been tightened in Chinese Taipei. "Payment for health services is capped at ... NT$4,100 for dialysis, the bureau [of the National Heath Insurance] said." 4,100 New Taiwanese dollars at todays exchange rate would be a bit over $127US.
A couple things strike me about this. One, I would not be surprised if ethnic Chinese from Chinese Taipei get a break on treatment charges when they visit the People's Republic of China even if the countries are at odds politically. So the $127 could be intended to fully reimburse ( while I'm sure visitors from the West are charged western prices). Two, $127US is about what Medicare actually pays per treatment (+/- due to case mix, geographic wage adjustment & remembering Medicare pays 80% of the allowed charges). So while an American dialyzor with Medicare as their insurer gets zero reimbursement for dialysis costs incurred outside the US (and outside of Medicare certified clinics), dialyzors in the Republic of China receive $127 if they have the original receipts.
$127 would not go far in today's dialysis world unless it was towards a subsidized treatment but $127 would help and Medicare doesn't save money if the dialyzor just stays home and vacations in the US. How many more dialyzors would take a dreamed of trip if they had just a little help from their insurer? And how many countries could be persuaded to accept the Medicare stipend instead of their full retail rate? You never know unless you ask - has anyone ever asked?





Comments