Korean cheerleader Lee Da-hye announced that she received a Taiwan health insurance card on September 18.
In the video, she joked about the photo on the card, but the enrollment requirements for foreigners shared alongside it also drew attention.
This is why it cannot be assumed that the card is issued automatically based solely on the length of time living in Taiwan.
3-Line Summary
1. Lee Da-hye revealed her Taiwan health insurance card
2. 6 months of residence and employment status were mentioned
3. Enrollment status cannot be determined from the card reveal alone
The “I look like a criminal” joke about the card photo
In a video posted on social media, Lee Da-hye said that she had received the physical health insurance card. The video said that she received the card after 4 years of working in Taiwan. Her manager said it was before giving her a present and asked about Taiwan’s drink-ordering methods, ways of expressing thanks, and Taichung’s local specialties, while Lee Da-hye responded to the questions.
The first thing Lee Da-hye mentioned after receiving the card was the photo. She joked that she did not like the photo and felt that she looked like a criminal, and asked her manager to change the photo. Liberty Entertainment reported alongside this scene that she has gained high popularity in Taiwan and has frequently shared updates about her daily life.
The video also included a scene in which she answered “a baseball bat” when asked about Taichung’s local specialties. The short video announcing her receipt of the health insurance card thus continued into questions and answers about local life and reactions to the photo.
The burden she felt from a medical bill
Lee Da-hye said that before receiving the card, she visited a hospital because she was feeling unwell and felt that hospitals in Taiwan were expensive after seeing the medical bill. The video also included her manager saying that hospital treatment would become cheaper after she got the card.
However, this conversation concerns the scene in which Lee Da-hye personally announced that she had received the card. The enrollment eligibility of other foreigners or their actual medical expenses cannot be judged in the same way based solely on the card reveal. The institutional explanation confirmed in this report is that the foreigner’s period of residence and employment status were presented together as conditions.
Conditions presented together: 6 months of residence and employment status
Yahoo News reported, citing an explanation from Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare’s National Health Insurance Administration, that foreigners who have resided in Taiwan for 6 months or more and have employment status through employment may apply to enroll in the National Health Insurance program. The conditions of the residence period and employment status were mentioned together.
The same report explained that applicants can generally receive a health insurance card within 5–14 business days after applying. This is the general procedure introduced in the article and does not itself confirm whether each individual’s residence and employment status meet the conditions.
Lee Da-hye’s video shows the fact of receiving the card and her lighthearted reaction to the photo. At the same time, for foreigners seeking to use medical insurance in Taiwan, the more direct criterion is whether their own period of residence and employment status qualify under the enrollment requirements, rather than the card photo.
References
- Yahoo News, report on Lee Da-hye’s Taiwan health insurance card
- Liberty Entertainment, report on Lee Da-hye revealing her health insurance card
Tags #LeeDa-hye #李多慧 #TaiwanHealthInsurance #HealthInsuranceCard #LifeInTaiwan #TaiwanHospitals #ForeignersHealthInsurance #EmploymentInTaiwan #ResidenceInTaiwan #TaiwanHealthcare #Cheerleader #Taichung