The Ministry of Health and Welfare has declared a new mandate wherein patients will be obligated to furnish their identification cards to avail themselves of health insurance coverage, effective next month.
Commencing May 20, patients will be required to validate their identities through presentation of their ID cards to facilitate coverage of their medical treatments under health insurance when visiting medical facilities such as hospitals and clinics, as per an announcement by the Health Ministry on Sunday.
This directive serves as part of the Health Ministry’s initiatives to fortify an identity verification framework within medical care establishments.
The stipulated ID card must contain a visual representation alongside the patient’s resident registration number or foreigner registration number, which can be in the form of a driver’s license or resident registration card.
In cases where individuals do not possess an ID card, they may furnish a mobile health insurance certificate, obtainable through online channels, to substantiate their eligibility for health insurance. Failure to provide proof of eligibility may result in non-coverage of medical expenses.
Exceptions to this requirement include instances wherein the patient is below the age of 19, classified as an emergency case, or has documented identity records within the preceding six months at the medical institution.
The introduction of this measure aims to curb instances of fraudulent claims, particularly those involving the misuse of health insurance certificates to procure psychoactive medications under false pretenses.
Presently, most medical facilities allow patients to consult a physician simply by presenting their resident registration number, thereby facilitating fraudulent activities associated with health insurance.
According to data from the National Health Insurance Service, incidents of borrowing or theft of health insurance certificates totaled 40,418 in the previous year, representing an increase from 32,605 cases in 2021 and 30,771 in 2022.
In February 2023, the government unveiled plans to bolster the sustainability of health insurance by incorporating measures to verify identity at hospitals and clinics. Subsequently, in May of the same year, amendments to the National Health Insurance Act were enacted to enforce a strengthened identity verification system, set to commence the following month.
