Insurance for babies?

[Manny_Avatar]

My wife and I (both foreigners) are having our first baby in Taiwan. We are students and so from the inception date of our ARC we have to wait 4 months for our NHI. We both qualified for NHI long ago BUT, when baby arrives that 4 months for him will start from new. ie. from the date he enters the world, and for four months of his little life he will have no insurance (his NHI will start automatically from 4 months old).

How did others deal with this? Do you have any advice or personal experiences that may be relevant?

Insurance companies all look at me like I'm a crazy when I explain that Mother's NHI does not cover it (it definitely does not), but I'm sure I can't be the first foreigner with this problem.

One further issue is that insurance companies cannot insure him without an ID number, so on Day 1 I have to go down to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and register him with a passport number of 0000000000 just so I can get the papers taken care of.

Has anyone out there been through all these hoops?

[vanhoivanbinh]

That's strange
We are the same situation, My baby is 2 week old.
I have referred some foreign friends who have babies here too.
The information is:
First 2 months, NHI from mother will cover your baby.
From the start of No3 month to end of No4 month, NHI will not cover
It means you need to do your baby ARC as quick as possible. Because NHI will be kicked in after 4 months of the ARC issued date

[Isha]

Here is the first hand information from a foreigner:
Regular vaccination of all the babies born in Taiwan is covered by government.
Any other sickness, parents need to bear the charge in full from the day baby is released from the hospital after birth.
Baby should stay continuously 4 months in Taiwan to start the national health insurance.
You can always get private health insurance for the babies. Most of the companies allow it if at least one of the parents buys private insurance too. I did not opt for it though.

[Manny_Avatar]

We found that if your ARC starts with two letters (ie. ZZ01234567) then the baby is not covered under Mother's NHI.

If it only has one letter (ie. Z012345678) then Mother's insurance will cover it.

So far the plan is:

Day 1: Witness birth of child, cry some... maybe get dizzy at sight of blood etc. Dash to MOFA to get ARC number. Call insurance company who have proposal ready and tell them to start the policy.

Month 4: Enjoy benefits of NHI plus another 6 months of extra health care under the private sector.

In between we can pay for any jabs if we want them as they are really quite cheap over here (relatively speaking).

If anyone has a better plan, it would be appreciated.

[Isha]

That's about it. Once you get the first ARC, try to apply for baby's passport asap. Also, keep copies of every ARC you get.. you will be getting at least two.. first before passport and second after getting passport. However, the date of first ARC will start the clock for NHI.

[Bobarctor]

That's strange
We are the same situation, My baby is 2 week old.
I have referred some foreign friends who have babies here too.
The information is:
First 2 months, NHI from mother will cover your baby.
From the start of No3 month to end of No4 month, NHI will not cover
It means you need to do your baby ARC as quick as possible. Because NHI will be kicked in after 4 months of the ARC issued date

I am curious about this as well: 4 months from baby birth or 4 month from ARC issuance ?

[Isha]

It is four months from first ARC issuance.

[Bobarctor]

OP would you advice the insurance company you are talking to ? Even if you can PM me a contact that would be perfect.
I find this system crazy especially when both the parents have NHI.

[Manny_Avatar]

4 months starts ticking from day the child is born IF you go to MOFA immediately and register the birth. This starts the little'uns first ARC. Crazy that he has to wait 4 months for NHI, there must be some backhander to the Insurance Companies happening here.

Edit...

Just had a thought, does anyone know how nationality is passed on in this country? Our hairdresser (great source of info, I know) thinks maybe child will be Taiwanese unless stated otherwise... as it would be in USA for example. Just clutching at straws here now trying to save 20/30k NTD policy cost...

[Isha]

If one of the parents is Taiwanese then child can have taiwanese nationality otherwise parent's nationality is passed on to the baby. It is not by birth in Taiwan as it is in US.

NHI needs four months grace period since the ARC of the child. However, private insurance agencies provide insurance since birth.