Taiwan's legislature passed a revision to the Medical Act on May 8 that puts three-shift nurse-patient ratios into law, while the health ministry plans to start enforcement on May 1, 2028 after a 2-year buffer. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]
Health Minister Shih Chung-liang told lawmakers that an immediate rollout could worsen bed closures and hurt patients' right to care. He said about 70% of hospitals had met the target by the second half of 2025, but some medical groups and rural hospitals backed the delay because staffing remains tight and more time is needed to hire nurses. [2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9]
The delay drew fire inside and outside parliament, where critics said pushing back implementation amounted to breaking a political promise. Shih responded in committee that if people feared the pledge would be broken, "If you're worried about a broken promise, vote for the president again and he will definitely carry it out," according to remarks cited in the record. [1, 3, 10, 5, 6, 11, 7, 12, 8, 9]
The dispute also spread beyond the chamber. Taiwan Nurses and Medical Industry Union adviser Chen Yu-feng went to the Control Yuan to file a complaint and said the group would later seek to file a criminal complaint against Shih with prosecutors. Shih also denied a claim that he had said "welcome to sue me," saying an audio recording showed him saying, "Okay, I accept." [1, 3]
The new law sets penalties for hospitals that fail to meet the nurse-patient ratio. Medical institutions can be fined up to NT$2 million depending on hospital level, and repeat offenders can face a shutdown order for as long as 1 year after 3 violations. [4, 11]
