The Taiwanese government has approved a package of amendments that pave the way for foreign investors to open hospitals in Taiwan, although a decision has yet to be made whether or not Chinese investors will be eligible for the new measures. The law amendments must be approved by the legislature before they can be implemented, but that is only a formality. In line with the amended provisions, which provide tax incentives, investors in international medical services can establish hospitals in an exclusive biomedical park in northern Taiwan's Hsinchu County in the form of a corporation. They can also issue shares. Health minister Yaung Chih-liang said, “ This will help lay a foundation for Taiwan to develop international medical services and medical tourism.
The DOH has agreed to allow foreign investors or joint ventures to set up the hospitals based on the build-operate-transfer model on a 7.85 hectare plot within the planned 38-hectare biomedical park in Hsinchu. It is estimated that foreign capital will be attracted to Taiwan as a result of the plan. The DOH does not restrict international investors from setting up medical facilities in appointed zones, nor does it limit the number of such facilities, so Kinmen Island would also be an acceptable location.”
The government has been criticized for promoting medical tourism at the expanse of caring for the local population. So it argues that such international hospitals add to rather than take away from Taiwan’s medical resources, as they are profit-making establishments that target only the better off customer who must pay for all of their own expenses, with no subsidy from the government. Taiwan’s medical level is on par with international standards and can compete with Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai, but the country has not attracted as many patients as it expected.
With the relaxation of rules on Chinese traveling to Taiwan, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) says Taiwan had 40,000 medical tourists in 2009, and estimates for 2010 are at least that. But this is nowhere near the government’s target of 100,000 by 2012. The Taiwanese government is focusing on health examinations, cosmetic surgery, dentistry, laser eye surgery and Chinese herbal medication in order to attract Chinese from around the world to Taiwan. Although other nations are targeted, the country has found it almost impossible to attract Europeans and Americans not of Chinese origin. Scores of local hospitals have joined the top ones in targeting medical tourists, while entrepreneurs have set up clinics just to offer health checks.
