Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Media: Health and Labor and Democracy in Taiwan

On NPR there's a very positive article on our health system.

So the patients are safe from bankruptcy. But the system itself is under strain. Chang says that Taiwan spends 6.23 percent of its GDP on health care, compared to 16 percent in America.

So the United States spends too much on health care, and doesn't even cover everybody. But the Taiwanese don't bring in enough money to pay for all the services they offer.

"So actually, as we speak, the government is borrowing from banks to pay what there isn't enough to pay the providers," Cheng says.

Taiwan's politicians are reluctant to increase premiums: they're afraid the voters will punish them.

So that's the problem here. And frankly, the solution is fairly obvious: increase the spending a little, to maybe 8 percent of GDP.

Of course, if Taiwan did that, it would still be spending less than half of what America spends.

Americans in Taiwan almost universally laud the health care system here.

Meanwhile the growth of indentured servitude in the world economy is discussed in a recent Newsweek article sourced in part from Jonathon Adams and Ron Brownlow here in Taiwan...

And national regulations on migrant labor often codify existing problems. For example, when Taiwan passed regulations on guest workers, its aim was to prevent them from qualifying for citizenship. Caps on what Taiwan-based labor brokers can charge have not stopped brokers abroad from charging up to $14,000 per recruit.

Indeed, funding pay-to-work schemes is now big business. Led by Chinatrust, Taiwan's largest private lender, several banks have begun extending credit to migrants at 19 percent annual interest. That's about what they would pay for credit cards, but labor
activists have attacked these loans as financial support for the exorbitant broker fees. A Chinatrust spokesperson says the loans are not only "fair and transparent" but also prevent workers from relying on "loan sharks in rural areas" who would charge much higher rates.

The article is long, detailed, interesting, and infuriating..... The failure of the DPP to implement more progressive labor policies here is just one of many examples of its general failure to embrace progressive policies across a range of issues...

Finally, a Japanese diplomat in the Online Japan Times muses on what KMT control of the executive and legislature might mean...

Previously, I had been apprehensive concerning the future of Taiwan's freedom and democracy. Democracy cannot be realized unless both the governing and opposition parties have a common vision concerning the ground rules for maintaining a democratic system.

Democratically electing a Nazi-like party that has a totalitarian view of the state means choosing to end democracy through democratic means. In Taiwan's case, as well, electing a government that consents to the one country, two systems arrangement means the end of freedom and democracy. Even though 10 years have passed in Hong Kong, a popular election has yet to be held. But that really is a trivial issue. The problem is that Hong Kong will enjoy freedom only for a duration of 40 more years. Whether the time that freedom is assured is 50 years or 100 years, it is still a promise to throw away the freedom of one's grandchildren.

I was concerned about a similar situation developing in Taiwan. Chinese President Hu Jintao made a proposal for peace talks with Taiwan. Whether such talks materialize through peaceful means (though inevitably under military and economic threat) or by the direct use of forces, Taiwan will eventually lose its freedom if, under such pressure, the president accepts the one country, two system solution. And I thought that a KMT president would be more prone to accept such compromise, and that a DPP government was a safer choice until that possibility completely disappeared. If the possibility of Taiwan accepting a one country, two system solution completely disappeared, I would not be concerned about Taiwan's future even if a change of government took place as a result of its democratic setup. The results of the latest presidential and legislature elections gives me hope that perhaps Taiwan might have already reached this stage.


6 comments:

阿牛 said...

<3 Taiwan's health care system.

And premiums absolutely have to increase given the service provided and elderly patient numbers.

昆蟲 said...

I remember an articles said:
"It is too good to be true, but it is true."

Forgot the source, sorry.

skiingkow said...

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Taiwan's health system (especially the drug system) is very good. It is so convenient to be able to get your medication right away at the doctor's office -- not to mention, extremely cheap!

However, the ratio of private hospitals to public hospitals leaves a lot to be desired. Here's a stat I found online...

There are 669 hospitals, 96 are public while 573 are private. (2000)

Although I'm not certain as to what the ratio is with respect to how many of these private hospitals are publicly funded (and I'm sure it includes a significant portion of the stats above), I am of the opinion that private hospitals (if not paid for by the government) are bad news for the people, overall. And I have had many experiences while living in Taiwan to justify that opinion. It is a system which lowers the quality of care for those who can't afford the privately funded clinics. Why? Simple. The best medical staff inevitably end up at these hospitals paid for by the wealthy.

In Canada, the neo-con light party that is currently in power is trying very hard to push for privatized care to the detriment of our world-renowned (very good) health care system. Private clinics are popping up in Quebec and Alberta and the first user-fee paid emergency clinic has opened up in B.C.

Quality health care should be A RIGHT. And quality health care for all is not compatible with a "for-profit" system.
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Anonymous said...

Dental coverage in Taiwan is just as abysmal as it is in the USA.

Yet Taiwan's medical coverage is enviable for the average American.

Perhaps, in having to take care of his old soldiers, Chiang Kai Shek creating one of the best social benefits of any country in the world. Too bad many poor Taiwanese don't use or can't afford it even at the bargain basement price it is.

Anonymous said...

T.R. Reid's segment on Taiwan was actually part of yesterday's Frontline show, "Sick Around the World". He also visited several other countries to learn about their national health insurance programs.

Boyd Jones said...

Anonymous - Taiwan's JianBao was created in 1995. CKS had nothing to do with it.

I have blogged about an American friend in Taiwan who can buy a certain drug extremely cheaply in Taiwan vs the USA. It is outrageous that the USA spends over 16% of its GDP on healthcare and still does not cover everyone (as compared to Taiwan spending 8%).