Policy network mapping of the universal health care reform in Taiwan: an application of social network analysis

Abstract

Understanding the relationships and dependencies among policy elites in the development and implementation of health care reform is essential to the effective management of reform promotion. This paper examines multiple types of ties between policy elites and power distribution, that have evolved in the crucial policy events of the National Health Insurance’s (NHI’s) financial reforms between 1998 and 2010. Data sources include official documents and 60 social network interviews that were held with government officials and related unofficial policy participants. Degree centrality index and core/periphery model are used to determine the major participants and network structures in the NHI domain, as well as the influential policy actors, based on information transmission and resource exchange relationships in Taiwan’s current political situation. By doing so, this paper aims to illustrate comprehensive power maps in Taiwan’s NHI policy domain and provide recommendations for the NHI’s sustainability governance.

Keywords:

• National Health Insurance (NHI)
• social network analysis (SNA)
• policy network analysis
• core/periphery model
• Taiwan

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the Taiwan National Science Council (NSC 100-2410-H-024-001).