Article 20 Individual Mobility
High prices make appropriate assistive devices unaffordable (in response to Paragraphs 50, 137, and 181 in the State Report)
Subsidy regulations for aids are overly strict: According to the latest version of the “Basic Subsidy Standards Table for Physical Aid Expenditures by Persons with Disabilities” released by the Ministry of the Interior, the thresholds for applications for subsidies on various assistive devices include various types of disabilities and severity of disability. Consequently, if an applicant does not meet the threshold disability standard, they cannot begin the process for professional assessment of disability. This assessment is necessary for eligibility for financial assistance. For example, electric wheelchairs and high mobility wheelchairs are only available for persons with severe or profound physical disabilities. A person with moderate levels of disability whose upper body is unable to use a hand-powered wheelchair will not be qualified to apply for financial assistance on electric wheelchairs due to regulatory restrictions.
The amount of financial assistance is low, but the cost of assistive devices remains high: Even if a PWD receives financial assistance, the amount is calculated using a proportion of the fixed price for a particular item. Many of the higher-quality assistive devices available on the market remain unaffordable to PWDs as their pricing are above the recommended price required under current financial assistance rules. Taking persons with hearing disabilities as an example, a good set of hearing aids can reduce up to 70% of the obstacles in daily life. However, a hearing aid for one ear alone costs NT40,000, which is equivalent to three or four months’ disposable income for lower to lower middle-income family. In comparison, electronic ears cost upward of NT one million, putting it out of reach for families without a high level of economic ability.
Recommendations
The Government should expand the eligibility criteria for financial assistance applications for the categories of assistive devices listed under the “Basic Subsidy Standards Table for Aid Expenditures by Persons with Disabilities” as well as the upper limit for financial assistance. The Government should also strengthen its ability to assess the physical conditions of individual PWDs, their lifestyles, environments, and individual needs. The Government should include concepts of preventive health care into its regulatory considerations to facilitate adequate provision of assistive devices.
The Government should initiate a comprehensive, interagency plan for supporting PWDs who need assistive devices rather than to divide responsible agencies along the lines of labor, social policy, and education simply for the sake of administrative expedience. PWDs should be the central concern when adjusting finances and resources, and strengthen the mediation windows among various professional personnel and resources. This can support PWDs in their multifaceted needs as a person.
Apart from Government-established physical aid centers, the Government can also propose initiatives to encourage private industry and organizations to provide physical aid loan services. This can increase the supply of assistive devices and the proximity of service to better account for the needs of PWDs.
Insufficient child-centered support equipment
Given the varied needs of children with disabilities for assistive devices, and the short periods of use along with high rates of replacement, assistive devices represent the greatest expenditure for children with disabilities. The Government presently restricts financial assistance to “four items within two years.” Further, the design of most assistive devices caters mainly to adults. There is a lack of interest in developing assistive devices for children among Taiwanese firms. This reduces the relative choice of assistive devices for children with disabilities, and does not meet their needs while growing up. Some assistive devices are expensive and available financial assistance too low, forcing low income families to adopt cheaper assistive devices that are unsuitable for children as a means of addressing their financial burdens.
In reference to aids schools provide to students with disabilities, see Article 9 Paragraphs 63 of this Report.
Recommendations:
As well as providing support for the livelihoods of low and medium-low income households, the Government should also consider the special needs of children with disabilities for assistive devices in the process of growing up. To reduce the economic burden for families the Government can broaden financial assistance categories and amount based on age. To raise the practicality of assistive devices suitable for children with disabilities, the Government can recognize commercial firms for innovation in assistive devices for children.
Invite families with children with disabilities and professionals (such as physical, skills, and language therapists, orthopedic surgeons, and physical therapy doctors) to jointly explore suitable financial assistance levels for children’s assistive devices.