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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》Free health checkups expanded
Representatives from the Health Promotion Administration pose for photographs at a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
By Chiu Chih-jou and Hollie Younger / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The Health Promotion Administration yesterday announced that starting this year, those aged 30 and older are eligible for free health checkups every five years, benefiting an estimated 3.2 million people.
The latest adjustment has lowered the minimum age for free health checkups from 40 to 30.
Those aged 40 to 65 are to continue to receive one free checkup every three years, while those older than 65 already receive annual checkups, Health Promotion Administration Director-General Wu Chao-chun （吳昭軍） said.
Indigenous people aged 55 and older and polio patients aged 35 and older also receive free annual checkups, Wu said.
The payment for each checkup has also been increased from NT$520 to NT$880 （US$15.77 to US$26.69） to enable healthcare providers to expand services, he said.
Checkups were previously only offered to those 40 and older, but the latest Nutrition and Health Survey in Taiwan, conducted from 2019 to 2023, showed that 9.7 percent of those aged 30 to 39 have high blood pressure, 2.5 percent have high blood sugar and 18.7 percent have high cholesterol, Aging and Chronic Disease Control Division chief physician Hu I-chun （胡怡君） said.
Treatment of conditions related to the “three highs” costs NT$167.6 billion per year, he said.
The checkups would help people who appear healthy to spot abnormalities early and begin preventative treatment before the onset of chronic disease, and are to help people get a better understanding of their health and get into the habit of regular checkups, he added.
Adult preventive health services include health behavior surveys, physical exams, blood tests, urine tests and health education consultations to address common health problems such as the “three highs,” kidney function, liver function and body mass index, the agency said.
From this year, services are to be upgraded to offer uric acid tests, chronic disease risk assessments, kidney disease testing and educational information related to a balanced diet and getting 150 minutes of exercise per week, it said.
High uric acid is closely related to diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease, and it affects 21.9 percent of men and 9.8 percent of women aged 19 and older, Hu said.
Identifying high uric acid in checkups would allow patients to identify the risks early and implement dietary adjustments, regular exercise routines and weight management to prevent the onset of chronic disease, he said.
The policy to offer free checkups to patients as young as 30 is a huge breakthrough that would not only make people take their health more seriously, but also establish a baseline for health data tracking, and allow patients to live longer and happier lives, Taiwan Medical Association standing director Huang Chi-chia （黃啟嘉） said.
Additional reporting by CNA
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
