If an insured receives medical treatments in a medical facility for an unexpected disease, an emergency injury, or an emergency childbirth while traveling abroad, they may request for reimbursements for such expenses. To submit the request, the insured must fill out the application form and gather all supporting documents (as specified in Table 1). Then, the insured should submit said documents to the regional division office (the address and phone number of each office are presented in Table 2) of the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) where they are enrolled in within six months from the day of the emergency treatment, the outpatient treatment, or a discharge from the hospital. The documents may be delivered personally or by post. Upon receiving the applications, the NHIA will review the documents to determine and approve the reimbursement amount.

On principle, the NHIA reviews and approves prepaid overseas medical expenses reimbursement applications according to the receipts presented. However, the upper limit of the actual reimbursement amount is set at the average payment of the NHI-contracted hospitals and clinics from the previous season. According to the average payment of the most recent season (January to March, 2024), the current reimbursement limit is NT$1,024 for each outpatient treatment, NT$3,298 for each emergency treatment, and NT$6,227 for each day of hospitalization. If treatments in a medical facility for an unexpected disease, an emergency injury, or an emergency childbirth are required while traveling abroad, the insured may request for a reimbursement. However, the criteria and amount of the reimbursement are subject to relevant regulations. The NHIA suggests everyone to purchase sudden illness travel insurances according to their needs to ensure fuller coverage.

Table 1 Necessary supporting documents for the Overseas application

Note: Please apply to the NHIA division office in charge of the area where the insured is enrolled in.

Table 2 All regional divisions of the NHIA