Dementia and disability patients as also those suffering from some acute diseases and under the age of 50-years in Taiwan will be eligible for long term care services beginning 1 January 2026 according to the Taiwanese ministry of health and welfare (MOHW).
According to MOHW the regulations governing long term care services are being amended to enable the new provision. The present MOHW regulations only offer government-subsidised long-term care services to people aged 65 and older, indigenous people aged 55 and older, individuals with physical or mental disabilities and those aged 50 and older with dementia.
MOHW said the National Health Insurance Administration has been running an initiative since 2014 and this focusses on patients with rehabilitation potential following acute illnesses such as strokes and heart failure.
By providing intensive rehabilitation services based on medical team evaluations, the programme helps patients reduce disability or regain functional abilities.
According to estimates presented by MOHW in early 2024 The expenditure of Taiwan's long-term care fund was likely to exceed NT$80bn ($2.5bn) during 2024. According to Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan the long-term care insurance gap in Taiwan is big, with the long-term care insurance subscription rate standing at only 4.32% as of the end of June 2023.
The rate drops significantly after the age of 60. mainly because people are unwilling to buy the insurance due to high premiums, or they are unable to insure as they are older than the ceiling age for insurance or they are suffering from deteriorating health.
Some insurance companies have launched long-term care policies that specifically cover dementia, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Such products do help people prepare in advance so that they will have sufficient financial resources to support themselves when they face long-term care risks in the future.
Official statistics indicate that Taiwan will soon be a super-aged society, when more than 20% of the population will be over 65 years old and the number of disabled people in need of care will exceed 1m, highlighting the urgent need for long-term care services.