Estimation of the Medical Costs Attributable to Occupational Diseases

• Main Author: 賴珮芳
• Other Authors: 李卓倫
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/81349177968700359088

碩士 === 中國醫藥學院 === 環境醫學研究所 === 90 === Estimation on the Medical Expenditure Attributable to Occupational Diseases Since March the first 1995, the Bureau of National Health Insurance took the responsibility for delivering health care for people in Taiwan, by integrating varies previous schemes for the labors, civil servants and the peasants. In the past, the Labor Insurance bore the costs of health care that is attributable to both occupational and other common diseases of the labors. In the national health insurance scheme, the Bureau of National Health Insurance bears the costs for common diseases rather than the occupational ones. Some health care expenditures of the national health insurance, therefore, have to be reimbursed by the Labor insurance. This study aims to estimate the health care expenditures of national health insurance that should be reimbursed by the Labor Insurance. Using the concept of attributable proportion and risk difference of occupational exposures, this study estimates the expenditures of the occupational diseases of skin, hearing losses and skeleton and muscle. These three are selected due to their ability to cause high health care expenditures, high prevalence and less debatable nature about the causality of occupational exposures. According to the results, this study suggests that the Bureau of Labor Insurance should reimburse an average of 3.0 billion NT dollars per year for, which occupies for about 1% of, the health care expenditures of the national health insurance in Taiwan. Or, the Bureau of Labor Insurance and the Bureau of National Health Insurance can negotiate the amount of reimbursement from 2.0 to 4.3 billion NT dollars, which represent the estimates of this study for the floor and ceiling, respectively. Key Words: Occupational Diseases, Health Care Expenditures, Risk Difference, Attributable Proportion.