TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New rules for co-payments for emergency medical care and prescription medication under Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) program go into effect on Saturday (July 1).

Some changes will be made to co-payments for emergency medical care and prescription medicine at regional hospitals and medical centers. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said these changes are meant to encourage patients with stable, chronic conditions to use local clinics and free up emergency resources.

Starting next month, there will be a surcharge of NT$10 (US$0.32) tacked onto the price of prescription medication at NT$100 or less at regional hospitals and medical centers, said MOHW. A co-payment of 20% will be charged on prescriptions for NT$101 and over, and the cap for the co-payment will rise to NT$300.

When seeking medical care at regional hospitals, the co-payment will rise from NT$300 to NT$400. The co-payment for treatment at medical centers will climb from NT$550 to NT$750.

For middle-to-low-income families or people with disabilities, the co-payment for emergency treatment will be NT$550 at medical centers, NT$300 at regional hospitals, and NT$150 at clinics.

The following categories of people will be exempt from the co-payment hikes: veterans, children under the age of three, police, firefighters, Coast Guard personnel, and certain members of the armed forces, as well as people seeking medical treatment for serious injuries or illnesses, childbirth, and residents of mountainous areas and outlying islands.

There will be no changes in the co-payments for prescriptions and emergency medical care at clinics and district hospitals. This means that co-payments for emergency treatment at clinics and district hospitals will stay the same at NT$150.

Prescriptions provided at clinics and district hospitals that cost NT$100 or less will remain free of co-payments. Prescriptions that are NT$101 or more will require a co-payment of 20%, but the co-payments will continue to be capped at NT$200.