Taipei, Nov. 16 (CNA) The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) on Tuesday approved a health insurance plan for migrant workers, which will cover hospitalization costs within the 30-day period after their arrival in Taiwan, if they are infected with COVID-19.
The COVID-19 insurance plan, the first to be designed specifically for new migrant workers, was developed by Fubon Insurance Co., in response to Taiwan's recent decision to reopen its borders to such workers from Indonesia, Tsai Huo-yen (蔡火炎), chief secretary of the FSC's Insurance Bureau, said at a press conference.
It was developed after the FSC asked the Non-life Insurance Association of the Republic of China to coordinate with its members to devise an insurance plan that will cover up to NT$500,000 in hospitalization costs for migrant workers confirmed as having an imported COVID-19 infection, Tsai said.
Currently, those costs and other medical treatment fees for migrant workers arriving with COVID-19 infections are being paid by Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), but that will be discontinued soon, he said.
Under the commercial health insurance plan, employers will have to obtain written consent from the migrant workers to buy health insurance for them before they enter Taiwan, Tsai said.
Employers with fewer than five workers can only purchase individual policies, which will cost NT$1,100-NT$1,200 per person, while those with five or more workers will have the option to buy group insurance, he said.
Migrant workers covered by the plan will not have to pay hospitalization costs, if they are diagnosed and treated for COVID-19 within 30 days of their arrival in Taiwan, Tsai said, adding that the insurance company will pay the money directly to the hospitals, up to a maximum of NT$500,000.
Apart from Fubon Insurance, five other companies have submitted similar plans to the FSC for approval, he said.
