by Charles DeBenedetto
(a sample National
Health Insurance Card, with smart chip so doctors can quickly access your
medical records. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
“Here is
your Resident Card, and here is your National Health Insurance Card.”
You would
think I would have first taken a long look at my Resident Card (I was finally
an official foreign worker in Taiwan!) but no, first I needed to read every word
on my National Health Insurance Card. It’s really mine, with my picture, my
name, and even a smart chip inside that will house my medical records, so,
regardless of which clinic or hospital I go to, a swipe of the card will bring
up my medical history onto the doctor’s computer screen. This was a big moment
in my life, and I let out a sigh of relief that I had been holding in for
years.
Growing up in America, it felt as though everyone around me was terrified of getting sick, but not because illness itself is scary, but because paying for it is even more horrifying. People often wait until they are on the verge of death before going to the hospital, and then, if they survive, they are anxious about whether or not they can pay for their treatment. I was one of millions of Americans concerned about either being uninsured or underinsured (as not all medical plans in America are created equal). For example, in college I had a basic school health insurance plan, but it would not cover much more than a flu shot, so I still lived life with a bit of trepidation.
But now, for the first time in my life, I am a part of a universal healthcare system that guarantees that when I get sick, I will have quick access to a doctor, who will prescribe medicine to me for a negligible copay, which the government will even waver if you live in poverty. Back home, when people hear that I am living in Taiwan, a small island in Asia, they must imagine that I am living a difficult life that is very inconvenient, but, in many ways, my life in Taiwan is more convenient and stress-free than it was in the States.
About six months into my first year of working in Taiwan, I was bit by a stray dog. I was leaving work early to go and have fun, and apparently that dog was my karma for slacking off. The dog got me as I was walking down the road, and it bit my left calf, puncturing my blue jeans and the skin, but not deep enough to do lasting damage. It felt surreal, like something you are only supposed to hear about happening to other people, and for a brief moment (after stumbling away) I sat at a bus stop bench and hastily planned my next move.
What could I do? How bad was my injury? But, before panic could set in too deeply, I remembered that I was insured, and made a plan to go to the nearest clinic. I took the bus for about 20 minutes, walked another 5, and I entered the clinic through the glass doors that don the National Health Insurance logo on them. The symbol, of two people apparently shaking hands, seems to me to symbolize cooperation, since all of society has to agree to work together for the betterment of everyone in order to create a universal healthcare system.
(Taiwan’s National
Health Insurance logo. Photo Credit: Wikipedia)
“What’s wrong?” the lady at the front desk asks, and I explain my situation. “Take a number, and take a seat,” she says. There is a row of small plastic chairs, similar to the ones elementary school students sit in, next to a water bubbler. I look at my number: 105. I look at the LED screen: 103. I must have waited only five minutes or so before I was seen.
The doctor is an older man, with a green medical mask and large glasses, fogged from his breath. He instructs me to roll up my pant leg, and, chuckling, he comments that the dog must have been very kind to me, because he did not bite deeply. He cleans the wound, bandages it, gives me a rabies shot, and instructs me to return every three days to get fresh bandages until it is fully healed. My copay for all of that was 150 New Taiwan Dollars, which is about 5 US dollars.
Five US dollars, to see a doctor and get a rabies shot? I don’t know how much it would have been in the US, but it would have certainly been more than that. And that has been my experience, with everything from flu and cold medication, to skin problems that specialized dermatologists helped cure, to my annual health check to make sure I am still fit to live and work in Taiwan (which includes blood work and chest X-rays), the price of all of that is always negligible. I know that National Health Insurance has problems, such as the need to increase premiums to pay for the medical costs of a rapidly aging population, but still, I thank Taiwan for giving me, giving all 23.5 million people here, the peace of mind to live our lives without fear of finances getting in the way of a healthy life. Although I probably will not retire in Taiwan, I will certainly continue to pay into National Health Insurance, so that I can always fly back if I need a procedure or operation done that would be too expensive elsewhere.