Taiwan's government is rolling out a points-style reward system that pays people to get check-ups, cancer screenings and vaccines — good news for public health and, in the long run, for the strained national insurance budget.

• The "health coin" scheme goes live in October, earning people credit whenever they take a preventive health step.
• Rewards cover adult health checks, hepatitis B and C testing, breast, oral and lung cancer screening, and vaccinations.
• Chronic disease is the driver: seven of Taiwan's ten leading causes of death are chronic conditions, and cancer has topped the list for 44 straight years.
• The costs are huge — treating high blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol problems ran to roughly NT$178 billion in 2024, with the top ten cancers close behind.
• Coins will be redeemable through convenience stores, hypermarkets, insurers, clinics, pharmacies and gyms as the network expands.

Outlook: Exercise, healthy eating and chronic-disease management are set to be folded in next, as the government chases its 2030 goal of cutting years lived in poor health and slashing cancer and chronic-disease death rates by a third.