Inpatient care use by patients with catastrophic illness under National Health Insurance in Taiwan

J. F.R. Lu*, C. L. Li, Y. C. Chuang

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: This study is designed to evaluate inpatient care utilization patterns of patients with catastrophic illness as defined by the Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI), Taiwan. In addition, the impact of National Health Insurance (NHI) on inpatient care utilization for this specific group is assessed. Methods: The distribution of inpatient health expenditures is analyzed using the BNHI national database for 1996. In addition, comparisons in inpatient uses between pre-NHI and post-NHI periods are made using data from Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH). Results: Our study has three major findings: (1) The NHI national databases on catastrophic illness demonstrate that the first category, malignant neoplasm, has the largest number of patients. The distribution of inpatient medical expenditure is skewed to the right (mean value is greater than the median). (2) As evidenced by the Linkou CGMH database, most of the catastrophically ill patients have demonstrated higher average annual hospital days and hospital expenses, but lower average age in the post-NHI period than in the pre-NHI period. (3) Some catastrophic illness certificate holders have indicated no NHI-defined catastrophic illness related to admitting diagnoses. Conclusions: Catastrophic illness certificates should be granted based on ICD-9-CM codes. Moreover, research on catastrophic illness should be performed on a long-term basis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)283-292
Number of pages10
JournalTaiwan Journal of Public Health
Volume18
Issue number4
StatePublished - 1999
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Catastrophic illness
  • Copayment
  • Health care utilization pattern
  • National Health Insurance

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