第 三 篇 國 際 評 價 與 肯 定
Chapter 3 International Recognition
95
全民健保開辦
18
年來，在醫界的配合
以及全民的支持下，已逐漸達到減輕民眾
就醫負擔的目標，特別是保險費負擔輕、
行政經費低及全民納保等，更在國際上贏
得好評。
2008
年美國總統大選，健保再度成為
美國主要的選舉議題之一。美國公共電視網
（
Public Broadcasting Service, PBS
）
製
作群製作了“
Sick Around the World
”
專
輯，深入報導英國、臺灣、德國、瑞士和
日本
5
個國家的醫療保險制度，以作為美
國討論健保議題之參考。其中有關臺灣健康
照護服務的內容，除了讚揚我國提供西醫、
牙醫、中醫及精神疾病照護服務外、健保卡
（
smartcard
）
的使用、醫療照護費用不及
美國一半等優勢，都成為探討的重點。這次
的報導不僅使臺灣的健保受到國際的肯定，
對臺灣國際形象的提升亦極有助益。
健保經驗 蜚聲國際
Attracting Worldwide Attention
Taiwan’s National Health Insurance program has now
been around for 18 years. Over that time, the NHIA, with
the cooperation of the medical community and the support
of the public, has been able to gradually reduce the financial
burden of health care, and its achievements, such as affordable
premiums, low administrative costs and universal coverage,
have earned the acclaimof the international community.
The NHI program has been featured in media reports
around the world, not only bringing it international attention
but also raising Taiwan’s global profile. In 2008, health care
was an important issue in the American presidential election,
and the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) produced a
Frontline series called “Sick Around the World” that focused
on the health insurance systems of Taiwan, Britain, Germany
Switzerland and Japan as a reference for U.S. policy makers
when debating the issue. The report on Taiwan’s health care
system explored and praised the range of western medicine,
dental, traditional Chinese medicine and mental illness
services offered, as well as the adoption of the IC card, and a
cost of care less than half that in the United States. The series
gave Taiwan a chance to be compared with other advanced
countries and brought considerable attention to the country’s
health insurance system.