Q 2-1、What is the impact on the inmates after leaving the country for more than two years and being deregistered?

A：

According to Article 8 of the National Health Insurance Law, people who do not have a household registration in Taiwan cannot join the health insurance. When an inmate is not covered by the health insurance becomes ill, shall receive public medical treatment or outpatient treatment at his own expense.

Q 2-2、How to restore household registration for deregistered inmates?

A：

• Those entering customs with a ROC passport：
  • Provide the inside pages of the passport information (basic information and photo pages) and a copy of the page with the latest customs entry stamp.
  • The inmate fills in the consent form for entrusting the household registration authority to restore the household registration.
• Those entering customs without a ROC passport：
  • The inmate’s relatives and friends prepare a letter of authorization, a certificate of imprisonment, a 2-inch color photo, a photocopy of the ID card, 400 yuan, etc., and apply for a copy of the entry permit to the service station of the Ministry of the Interior National Immigration Agency, and then send it to the inmate.
  • The inmate fills in the consent form for entrusting the household registration authority to restore the household registration.
  • The inmate prepares the above-mentioned documents, and after the application is approved, the household registration office shall be requested to restore the household registration by the agency letter.

Q 2-3、What kind of medical care is provided to the inmate?

A：

The medical care provided by the correctional agency is as follows：

• Preventive health care：Carry out a check-up, and list and track the inmates suffering from chronic or special diseases. In addition, health education is implemented for the inmates to prevent diseases.
• Disease treatment：If the inmate is unwell, he will be treated by a doctor.
• Infectious disease prevention：At the time of new inmate, blood screening for infectious diseases (to check for AIDS or syphilis) and chest X-ray screening will be implemented. In addition, each agency handles 1 expanded screening every year.

Q 2-4、Can inmate suffering from chronic diseases receive treatment in prison?

A：

• If the inmate needs to see a doctor, he can report to the ward Controller to make a doctor’s appointment.
• Inmates with chronic diseases need to take medicine for a long time, and they can apply for making a doctor’s appointment and medicine in the agency. In order to link up treatment, inmates can apply to the original treatment hospital for medical certificates, medical records and medication records, etc., for reference by the agency.
• If proper treatment is not possible in the correctional agency, the doctor will suggest arranging an outside doctor or transferring to a medical prison. When the illness is serious, the agency will consider applying for compassionate release.

Q 2-5、What to do if there is a need to take medicine in prison?

A：

• If the patient needs to take medicine, he can go to the out-patient of the agency and take the medicine according to the doctor's advice.
• The medicine brought in by the inmate should be accompanied by a complete medicine bag or prescription note. The packaging of the medicine bag should be marked with the name of the patient, the name of the medicine, the content of the medicine, the usage of the medicine, the name of the medical institution, the address of the medical institution, the name of the dispenser, and the date of delivery. Use after verification by the agency. Those who need to administer insulin should prepare a diagnosis certificate, prescription note, needles and medicines to be used.
• For necessary drugs that cannot be obtained from the agency, an application form may be filled in and the drugs can be delivered by relatives and friends. The outer packaging of the medicine must be complete, and attached with a diagnosis certificate or prescription note, etc.
• Send method：Relatives of the inmate can mail it at the designated time and place, or send it in with permission.
• If the medicine does not meet the previous disclosure requirements, the agency will reject it.
• Principles for handling rejected medicine：
  • The inmate can send the medicine to the designated place at his own expense, or ask relatives and friends to collect it.
  • If the inmate does not deal with it, the agency will destroy the medicine.

Q 2-6、Are the inmates in the correctional agency included in the health insurance? Do I need to pay for health insurance?

A：

• Inmate health insurance analysis：
  • Category 4, Item 3(Insurance are subsidized by the Ministry of Justice) ：Inmates who in prison more than 2 months, receiving rehabilitation (detoxification) treatment persons, subjected to compulsory labor persons, subjected to educational discipline students, and criminal law Article 91-1 Compulsory treatment persons.
  • Non-category 4, Item 3(Self-pay) ：Defendant, under observation and rehab persons, Juvenile inmate, under custody, and Inmates who in prison less than 2 months.
  • Not eligible for insurance, cannot be covered：Home country inmates that do not comply with Article 8 of the National Health Insurance Law、 Foreign inmates that do not comply with Article 9 of the National Health Insurance Law. If a foreign inmate has a residence permit and has been in Taiwan for more than six months, he may be included in the health insurance.
  • Inmate insurance fee is RMB 1,785 per person per month.

Q 2-7、Do inmates with health insurance need to pay for medical treatment? How to deal with the cost?

A：

• Medical expenses are as follows：
  • Registration fee：Ranging from 0 to 100 yuan, depending on the price of the hospital.
  • Self-pay：In accordance with the provisions of Article 7 Paragraph 1 of the Management Measures for Medical Treatment of Inmates by the National Health Insurance in a Correctional agency, the fees are calculated at the level of the primary medical unit level. In addition, in accordance with Article 48 of the National Health Insurance Law, major injuries and diseases, childbirth, and mountainous outlying islands are exempt from part of the burden.
  • Hospital expenses：The burden is 10% to 30% depending on the length of hospitalization. The longer the hospital stay, the higher the burden ratio.
• When the inmate cannot pay the fee, the correctional agency will deduct the money from the custody or labor compensation or notify the family member to pay the fee.

Q 2-8、Will the Ministry of Justice pay the inmate’s health insurance arrears before being sent to prison?

A：

• Regardless of whether it is a category 4, item 3, or another insurance category, if the health insurance premium before entering the institution is in arrears, the Ministry of Justice will not pay for it.
• If an inmate of category 4, item 3, is locked due to arrears, the National Health Insurance Agency will release the card after entering the institution, which will not affect their rights to use health insurance after entering the institution.

Q 2-9、How can inmates who are not covered by health insurance seek medical treatment? Who will bear the cost?

A：

• Those who have been sentenced for less than 2 months and meet the health insurance qualifications should continue to receive the insurance by themselves and pay the premium to avoid interruption of the health insurance.
• If inmates do not have health insurance, when he/she falls ill, the agency will hire physicians to provide diagnosis and treatment, or partner hospitals will provide charity outpatient.
• Inmates with insurance qualifications under the National Health Insurance Law, who have no health insurance card, are applying for insurance, are not insured, or have arrears of health insurance expenses, and are temporarily suspended from insurance payments, must first seek medical treatment as health insurance. In the follow-up, the business division of the National Health Insurance Administration Ministry of Health and Welfare and correctional agencies will assist them in insurance coverage or payment of arrears in installments, etc.

Q 2-10 、How to deal with when the inmate cannot afford the medical expenses but needs to seek medical treatment?

A：

If the inmate has financial difficulties and cannot pay the expenses on his own, he/she may apply the following methods：

• Those who meet the requirements of the National Health Insurance Standards for Financial Difficulty may submit relevant materials and apply for interest-free loans from the National Health Insurance Relief Fund.
• Submit an application to the agency, and the agency commissions a medical institution or doctor for diagnosis and treatment：
  • Application deadline：Before receiving treatment or within 3 months after receiving treatment.
  • Documents：Certificates of poor, low-income or low and middle-income issued by the chief of village in the last year.
  • The inmate’s financial difficulties have not improved after six months from the date of identification, and those who still need medical treatment must apply again.
  • If the inmate is determined to be in financial difficulty and unable to cover the medical expenses, the agency will deduct the money from the custody or labor compensation to pay the medical expenses within six months after receiving the treatment.
  • Under any of the following circumstances, the agency will recover the medical expenses of the inmate:
    • Provide false information.
    • Conceal or refuse to provide information requested by the agency.
    • Obtaining documents by fraud or other improper methods.

Q 2-11、I received an official document from agency informing me that medical expenses should be paid and how to deal with it?

A：

• In addition to the outpatient service of public doctors, the inmates who are not eligible for health insurance must pay for the rest of the medical treatment at their own expense. If they receive official documents related to the reminder, they should pay according to the limit.
• Relatives and friends may send medical expenses to the inmate. Please refer to "VI. Matters related to send money, food, and items".

Q 2-12、Under what circumstances can the inmates be arranged for outside doctors? Will relatives be notified?

A：

• The inmate is diagnosed by a doctor and cannot receive proper treatment in the agency, and the doctor can issue a referral form for recommendation, or the inmate can submit a report for the outside doctor at his own expense. If approved by the agency, the outside doctor will be arranged.
• If the inmate is hospitalized or according to his condition, the agency will notify relatives to visit. Relatives must go to the hospital and sign the consent form of invasive examination and operation.
• Visiting relatives need to bring identification documents and visit the hospital within the specified interview time.

Q 2-13、Can the inmate specify the time of the outside doctor and the medical institution?

A：

• According to the law, inmates are not allowed to designate the time of the outside doctor and the medical institution. All are designated by the agency to see the time of the outside doctor and the medical institution.
• When the inmate is hospitalized, he will be given priority to be admitted to the guard and protection ward; when there is no guard and protection ward, the principle of staying in the health care ward. The hospital shall not charge the inmate for the difference in ward fees.

Q 2-14、What are the conditions and application procedures of the compassionate release?

A：

• Condition of compassionate release：
  • If the inmate is injured or suffering from disease, but cannot be treated after being sent to a medical institution or medical prison, the prison may report to the supervisory authority to approve the compassionate release after consulting the doctor’s order. In an emergency, the prison must first grant compassionate release, and then report to the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice.
  • Those who have been pregnant for more than five months or have given birth for less than two months may apply the general provisions of the previous article.
• The procedures can be divided into two types: general and emergency, as described below：
  • General：The agency prepares the medical certificate and other supporting documents, reports it to the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice, and after approval, informs the relatives of the inmate to go to the District Prosecutors Office to handle related matters.
  • Emergency：The agency prepares certificate documents such as medical certificate and critical illness notice, which shall be approved by the agency head. In addition, the District Prosecutors Office will take action according to its powers, and then inform the relatives of the inmate to go to the District Prosecutors Office to handle related matters, and then report to the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice.
• Conditions, handling procedures, and review procedures for compassionate release：
  • If the condition of the inmate meets the provisions of Article 63 of the Penal Execution Law of the Prison and one of the conditions in Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the "Examination Standards and Management Measures for compassionate release ", the prison may report to the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice for approval heal：
    • Suffering from a disease with a high fatality rate, fearing that their life cannot be saved due to be in prison.
    • Being aging or having objective facts is sufficient to admit that he is with severe disabilities and unable to take care of himself, and he will hard to get appropriate medical care in prison.
    • Serious illness must be hospitalized outside the prison for a long time.
    • The physically disabled is severe and must rehab outside the prison for a long time.
    • The condition is complex, difficult to control, and there is a danger of death at any time.
    • Suffered from a legally infectious disease, difficult to isolate and treat in prison.
  • Agency procedures and review：
    • Before the correctional agency reports for compassionate release, the inmate must be sent to a medical institution for treatment or hospitalization, obtain relevant certification documents, and first consult the doctor’s advice, and evaluate the following situations：
    • The severity of the condition.
    • Disease treatment plan.
    • Self-care ability.
    • The care ability of relatives and friends or the social welfare agency placement plan.
  • In the previous assessment, the prison may entrust other professional agencies, groups or individuals to assist in the assessment when necessary.
  • If the inmate requests compassionate release, the prison needs to be handed over to medical personnel, depending on whether the condition of the inmate meets one of the conditions in Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the "Examination Standards and Management Measures for compassionate release ". Before reporting on compassionate release, the inmate must be sent to a medical institution for treatment or hospitalization, obtaining a medical certificate, a summary of medical records and other relevant supporting documents, and assessing the severity of his condition, disease treatment plan, self-care ability, etc. according to the doctor’s advice, and notify the inmate of the result.
  • Based on the above circumstances, judge whether it meets Article 63 of the Prison Execution Law. Except for emergencies, which must be approved by the agency for compassionate release, all others must report the "Compassionate Release Report Form", detailing the inmate’s condition, disease treatment plan, self-care ability, caring ability of relatives and friends or social welfare organization placement plans, etc., are finally reviewed by the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice.
• The defendant is not yet eligible for compassionate release. If the defendant is seriously ill and cannot be properly treated in Detention Center, the agency shall check the medical certificate and report to the court or the prosecutor for handling.

Q 2-15、What are the precautions for the inmate during compassionate release?

A：

• The inmate shall observe the following matters during compassionate release：
  • Must not violate the law.
  • Should be treated according to doctor’s instructions.
  • Must not leave or change the original medical institution without authorization. If necessary for treatment or care, should attach relevant supporting documents to the original prison for changing the medical institution.
  • Should take the initiative to maintain contact with the prison and not lose contact without reason.
  • At the time of the prison interviewer's visit, should provide documents such as health, medical treatment, residence, living conditions reports, and medical certificates.
  • Except for the maintenance of daily living and living needs, no activities unrelated to the purpose of treatment without the approval of the prison.
  • Must not harm, intimidation, harassment, track, entanglement, or other illegal acts to victims, persecutors, informants, witnesses, or other stakeholders.
  • Other matters deemed necessary by the prison.
• Prison's handling of violations of the above matters：
  • The prison shall first order in writing to improve within the time limit. If there is no improvement, the prison may report to the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice to abolish the compassionate release.
  • In the event of a major violation, medical staff assessing that the condition has been cured or improved, or failure to report to the Prosecutors Office within the specified date, the prison may report to the Agency of Corrections, Ministry of Justice to abolish the compassionate release.
• The period of compassionate release shall not be counted into the prison term. For those who have not recovered, the medical certificate should be attached every month, and the prison will handle the extension depending on the condition of the disease.
• During the period of bail treatment, when the medical staff evaluates that the inmate’s condition has been cured or improved, he should report to the Prosecutors Office on the specified date, and then return to the prison to execute the remaining prison term.

Q 2-16、If the prisoner died during compassionate release, what should the relatives do?

A：

• Hold the death certificate and relevant supporting documents to take back the bail from the Prosecutors Office.
• Hold the death certificate to the correctional agency where the prisoner is serving the sentence. Go through the procedures for checking the death of compassionate release and removing procedures.