TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Experts in Taiwan are calling for subsidized consultation for advance care planning, as they believe cost is a major impediment in the promotion of advance directives.

Since the implementation of the Patient Right to Autonomy Act (病人自主權利法) in January 2019, only 45,621 individuals have created an advance decision document as of February, most of them ages 55 to 74. Taiwan currently has 246 medical institutions providing counseling services, said Deputy Minister Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) of the Minister of Health and Welfare.

Hsieh Ching-hsiang (謝景祥) from the Taiwan Community Hospital Association argued at a hearing on the act on Monday (March 6) that preparing for future decisions about one’s medical care should be a fundamental right, along with free counsel.

He urged the ministry to set aside a five-year budget of NT$5 billion (US$164 million) in subsidies for people ages 65 and older for their healthcare arrangements. He argued that this will be conducive to more effective hospice care and allocation of medical resources, which can be directed to National Health Insurance-covered intensive care.

According to the Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation, the cost for one session of advanced care planning ranges from NT$2,000 (US$65) to NT$4,000 (US$132) per hour.

Cheng Shao-yi (程劭儀) from the Taiwan Academy of Hospice Palliative Medicine believes that the growth of advance care planning is hindered by a lack of awareness and inadequate effort to promote the idea in hospitals.

Frank Fu (傅達仁), a former renowned sports commentator, passed away via assisted suicide in Switzerland in 2018 after his fruitless campaign to push for the legalization of euthanasia in Taiwan. At the hearing, his son pleaded in support of the enactment of a similar law that allows critically ill patients, like his father, to die with dignity.