Taipei: The National Health Insurance (NHI) outpatient co-payment for patients visiting large hospitals for minor health issues without a referral could increase significantly later next year, an official said on Tuesday.

According to Focus Taiwan, NHI official Liu Lin-i stated that a proposal to raise the nonreferred co-payment at medical centers to NT$1,200 (US$39.19), from the current level of NT$420, is considered a "last resort" to reserve larger medical centers for critical and complex cases. The proposed increase represents half of the average NHI reimbursement for a medical center outpatient visit, which is approximately NT$2,400, as per Liu, who is the chief of the Medical Affairs Division of the National Health Insurance Administration.

Liu further explained that an assessment on whether to increase the co-payment would be conducted in July. This assessment would only proceed if an earlier review determines that the "reimbursement cap" measure fails to ease outpatient visits at medical centers in the first half of next year. The reimbursement cap measure was introduced incrementally by region this year, aiming to limit the resources hospitals dedicate to minor health issues and to reinforce the tiered healthcare system.

The NHI's current measure caps reimbursement for outpatient services at 55 percent of a medical center's total revenue, Liu mentioned. However, the NHI is considering lowering this percentage, subject to negotiations with the medical community. Liu added that a six-month trial period will be allowed to evaluate whether the measure achieves its intended results.

Liu's comments provided further insight into ideas shared by Health and Welfare Minister Shih Chung-liang during an interview with United Daily News published on Tuesday.