National Health Insurance (NHI) in Taiwan Seems Appealing to the USA

After attending a presentation about NHI, the health insurance program that is being put to use successfully in Taiwan, I was astounded by some of the issues present in the world today. The first fact which I found intriguing was where the man from Taiwan presentation the slideshow addressed the fact that the average age of mortality in Taiwan was something like 82 years of age in females and around 78 years of age in males. I also enjoyed how the success of NHI in Taiwan is in a way related to the fact that Confucian ideologies of the Taiwanese people results in the people not having a problem with the government “interfering” in certain “personal/financial” business. Health care, as we discussed in class, is a very important topic that has a lot of people throughout our nation “buzzing.”
I, being a human biology major, was particularly intruiged by the fact that the doctors in Taiwan earn a salary which is 6 times (6:1 ratio) that of the average employed individual in their society, whereas it is a 5:1 ratio in the United States. Although they have more patients per day, they are rewarded with a greater salary, along with the fact that more individuals are living a healthier lifestyle. Health insurance is a major political and social issue in the United States today and I feel that if minor modifications were made to address the people of our country more, then NHI would be a great proposal for the people of the United States to consider as an option. Overall, the presentation was interested and insightful.
“Healthcare in Taiwan is administrated by the Department of Health of the Executive Yuan. As with other developed economies, Taiwanese people are well-nourished but face such health problems as chronic obesity and heart disease. In 2002 Taiwan had nearly 1.6 physicians and 5.9 hospital beds per 1,000 population. In 2002, there were a total 36 hospitals and 2,601 clinics in the country. Per capita health expenditures totaled US $752 in 2000. Health expenditures constituted 5.8 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2001; 64.9 percent of the expenditures were from public funds.” A healthcare system like this is what is responsible for nations to overcome epidemics and pandemics such as SARS, swin flu, etc.