To alleviate the economic burden on workers seeking medical treatment due to occupational injuries or sickness, the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance provides comprehensive medical reimbursement coverage. When workers present an Occupational Injury/Sickness Medical Treatment Form for outpatient or inpatient application (hereinafter referred to as the Medical Form) as "occupational accident workers" to any National Health Insurance-designated hospital, they can have a portion of their medical expenses reduced or waived under the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, and receive a subsidy for meals within 30 days of hospitalization. The insurance medical expenses are paid for by the Bureau of Labor Insurance (BLI). The procedures are simple and reimbursement is prompt.
The Medical Form should, in principle, be filled out by the insured unit, but what should be done if the unit refuse to fill it out? There is no need to worry. The Ministry of Labor has compiled three methods to ensure that labor's rights to medical treatments are not interrupted.
Method 1: Obtain from local offices of the BLI
Workers who have suffered occupational injuries or sickness can bring relevant supporting documents for their occupational accident(such as occupational accident certificate issued by a labor inspection agency, official document from the BLI approving occupational accident benefits, occupational injury/ sickness assessment report or diagnosis certificate issued by an occupational medical or network hospital, the Medical Form used for the same occupational injury and sickness treatment, etc.) and identification documents to a local office of the BLI to collect the Medical Form. After verification by an officer of the office, the Medical Form can be issued on the spot.
Method 2: For occupational diseases, consult a specialist for a diagnosis
If a worker is diagnosed by an occupational medicine physician with an occupational disease found in the list of occupational diseases under the Occupational Accident Insurance, the physician can directly issue an occupational disease diagnosis slip so that the worker can immediately access his or her occupational medical care benefits. In addition, if the worker needs further treatment for the same occupational disease, he or she can use the diagnosis slip to obtain a Medical Form from his or her insured unit or a local office of the BLI to continue the medical reimbursement coverage.
Method 3: Seek medical treatment first before applying for reimbursement from the BLI
If a worker suffers injury at work but is not issued a Medical Form, there is no need to panic. They can seek medical treatment under the NHI scheme and keep the medical receipts and diagnosis. After the treatment is completed or a period of time has elapsed, they can apply to the BLI for reimbursement of the medical expenses paid in advance within the 5-year statute of limitations. Their medical rights will not be compromised.
For supplementary information from the Ministry of Labor on the eligibility, benefit levels and claim procedures for occupational medical care benefits, please visit the
BLI’s website.