Health tokens redeemable from December: Health ministry

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) Health tokens earned under a new government program will be redeemable for health-related goods and services from December, with adults aged 18 and over able to begin earning them Oct. 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said Thursday.

The MOHW presented its health token plan at the Cabinet's weekly meeting Thursday, saying the program is designed to encourage people to take a more active role in preventive health care, including health checkups, cancer screenings, vaccinations and other health-promoting activities.

The initiative aims to place greater emphasis on disease prevention in health policy by providing ongoing incentives that make it easier for people to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors, the ministry said.

A minimum of 1,000 tokens will be required for each redemption, and tokens will be valid for two years. Each health token will be worth NT$1 (US$0.03) in principle, the ministry said.

Tokens can be exchanged for fresh produce, beverages, dried goods, medical equipment and nutritional supplements at participating convenience stores, hypermarkets, community pharmacies, medical institutions, sports facilities and life insurance companies.

The tokens can also be redeemed for services including out-of-pocket health checkups, vaccinations and anesthesia as well as additional health-related rewards under insurance policies offering wellness incentives, the ministry said.

Under the program, people aged 18 and over can earn between 100 and 1,350 health tokens from Oct. 1 by completing government-funded adult preventive health checkups, hepatitis B and C screenings, cancer screenings, and influenza, COVID-19 and pneumococcal vaccinations.

The program will also be open to foreign nationals enrolled in the National Health Insurance program.

People who log in to the health token section of the National Health Insurance Administration's NHI Express app for the first time and complete a lifestyle assessment questionnaire will also receive tokens, which can be tracked through the app.

The maximum number of tokens an individual can accumulate during the two-year validity period will vary by age, according to the MOHW.

Those aged under 40 can earn between 3,700 and 7,300 tokens, while those aged 40 to 65 can earn between 7,500 and 11,000 tokens. People aged 65 and over can earn between 8,350 and 13,150 tokens.

Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a post-Cabinet meeting news conference that Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) had instructed the MOHW to carefully plan public outreach and provide guidance on using the health tokens.

Cho also called for attention to the needs of older people and those with limited access to digital technology, while urging the ministry to expand the types of everyday activities for which people can earn tokens and broaden the range of goods and services for which they can be redeemed.

Cho further instructed the MOHW to work with the Ministry of Sports to study ways to integrate the health token program with the sports token program and explore ways to increase the value of the rewards, with the aim of encouraging greater participation in exercise and promoting healthier lifestyles.

Cho said that after the health token program is launched, the MOHW should regularly review the program's performance and participation rates, improve the program and formulate plans for a second phase as early as possible.