Foreign nationals eligible for health token program with NHI: Minister

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Taiwan's "health token" incentive program set to begin in October will be open to anybody aged 18 and over enrolled in Taiwan's national health insurance program, including foreign nationals, Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said Tuesday.

The Health Promotion Administration had previously told CNA in late August that the program would initially be open only to Taiwanese nationals.

Under the program, which is aimed at promoting preventive care, adults who participate in designated health activities, such as checkups and screenings, will receive a certain amount of tokens for each activity.

Shih said negotiations have been completed with several types of retail outlets, including supermarkets, convenience stores, and pharmacies, over accepting the tokens.

Details on redemption rewards have yet to be finalized in some cases, however, and will be announced later in the month, Shih said.

Negotiations have also been held with hospitals to allow the use of tokens for out-of-pocket expenses for vaccinations and health checkups, Shih said.

The tokens will expire two years after they are earned to encourage people to continue taking preventive steps to stay healthy, according to Shih.

At a presentation introducing the program in late August, Health Promotion Administration Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) provided examples of how many tokens can be earned for specific actions.

A health check will earn 800 tokens, while breast, oral and lung cancer screenings will each earn 1,000 tokens, Shen said at the time.

According to Shen, arrangements have already been made for participants to be able to redeem the tokens at a rate of NT$1 (US$0.03) for every token at participating supermarkets.

Shen said, however, that tokens could not be accumulated retroactively, meaning that health checks and screenings carried out between January and September 2026 would not qualify for tokens.