Long-Term Care Payment System to Be Reviewed in 3 Tiers Starting September, Experts Urge Per-Person Payment Model

(CNA Taipei, July 1st) - A public hearing on amendments to the Long-Term Care Services Act was held by the Legislative Yuan's Health and Welfare Committee today. Experts called for the promotion of a per-person payment model for long-term care, while practitioners urged the establishment of a unified national cost assessment mechanism and an institutional evaluation system. The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that starting in September, adjustments to long-term care payments will be reviewed through a three-tier system, similar to the National Health Insurance.

The Social Welfare and Health and Welfare Committee of the Legislative Yuan convened a public hearing on amendments to the "Long-Term Care Services Act" today, inviting experts, scholars, practitioners, civil groups, and user representatives to jointly examine the challenges faced in promoting Long-Term Care 3.0.

Tu Hsin-ning, Chairperson of the Taiwan Home Care Services Alliance, pointed out four current issues in long-term care: rising costs, limited fees, increased management burdens, and staffing shortages that affect service stability. Therefore, she advocated that payment standards should be benchmarked against the minimum wage, with principles for regular review in the organic law, even hoping for adjustments every two years. Additionally, with the recent stock market boom, she called for an increase in the securities transaction tax to fund long-term care.

Chang Shu-ching, Secretary-General of the Chinese Federation for the Elderly, also suggested establishing a public foundation, similar to the Health and Welfare Commission, to integrate various quality management and promotion plans, thereby improving the current fragmented situation of separate evaluations and training commissioned by each county and city.

Wang Tseng-yung, Professor at the Graduate Institute of Social Work at National Chengchi University, noted that the current per-service payment model for long-term care does encourage service volume but makes it difficult for services to reach sparsely populated areas that do not achieve economies of scale. Therefore, he believes that a per-person payment model should be promoted, referencing the National Health Insurance's "IDS Project" (Indigenous and Remote Area Medical Care Payment Improvement Project), to implement services in remote and indigenous areas.

Lu Chien-te, Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, responded that the ministry has established the "MOHW Long-Term Care Consultation Committee" in accordance with the law, incorporating service user representatives in hopes of ensuring resource allocation fully reflects actual care needs. After revising the "Principles for New and Revised Long-Term Care Service Packages" this year, related fees will also be reviewed by an expert review panel.

Chu Chien-fang, Director-General of the Long-Term Care Administration, explained that starting as early as September this year, a three-tier review framework will be established, referencing the National Health Insurance. In the future, if providers need to adjust prices, they must proactively submit a cost structure analysis for review by an expert panel. After approval, it will be reported to the Long-Term Care Consultation Committee, which meets twice a year. Policies involving large-scale fund utilization will be decided by the highest-level Fund Management Committee.

Regarding evaluations, Lu Chien-te stated that not only the long-term care system but also the social welfare system faces similar issues. He believes that learning from the medical system by establishing a foundation could professionalize the overall system. (Editor: Su Lung-chi) 1150701

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