KTMS Targets 800 Million Baht Revenue, Opens 11 New Dialysis Units

According to the latest long-term care insurance business report released by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on August 27, 2026, the number of people certified as requiring long-term care or support has reached 7.21 million, with approximately one in three people aged 75 or older receiving such certification. Based on calculations using the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' 2025 average results, a household of a married couple aged 65 or older with no employment faces a monthly deficit of about 42,434 yen, resulting in a shortfall of approximately 15.28 million yen over 30 years. For single-person households, the monthly deficit is about 29,980 yen, totaling approximately 10.79 million yen over 30 years. Adding the average long-term care cost of about 5.42 million yen and a reserve fund of 3 million yen, the total exceeds 20 million yen, making the 20 million yen retirement figure a realistic defense line. Additionally, the number of insured persons aged 65 or older (Category 1 insured) was 35.84 million, a decrease of 50,000 from the previous year, but the number of certified persons increased by 120,000, indicating that while the overall elderly population is declining, the demand for long-term care continues to rise.

Bloomberg reports that Taiwan's population may decline to about 12.15 million by 2075, a drop of roughly 48% from 2026 levels, amid a continued decrease in births and young population, while the number of elderly rises significantly, posing long-term challenges to the labor market, economy, and defense capabilities. Estimates from Taiwan's National Development Council (NDC), based on household registration data, indicate that the working-age population will shrink by nearly two-thirds over the next 50 years. By 2075, the population aged 0-14 will be only 585,000, the working-age population (15-64) will be about 5.13 million, and those aged 65 and above will reach 6.43 million, meaning the elderly will outnumber the working-age population and account for more than half of the total population. These figures reflect risks after the population peaked at 23.6 million in 2019, and could also affect Taiwan's security, as the military still relies partly on conscription amid threats from China.

Praram 9 Hospital, or PR9, said its third-quarter 2026 operating performance is showing growth compared with a year earlier, driven by a rise in foreign patients, especially from the Middle East and Myanmar, as well as more Thai patients returning for treatment. Its second-half strategy is to upgrade care for complex diseases such as kidney disease, heart disease and brain disorders, along with robotic surgery, to attract foreign patients who fly in directly for treatment. Foreign patients currently account for about 27% of the total, with Myanmar and Middle Eastern patients together making up more than half of all foreign patients. The company is confident that 2026 revenue will grow by a single-digit percentage as planned, and is also watching opportunities from Moderna and Merck's mRNA cancer vaccines, as well as government policy that could shift civil servant welfare benefits to a health insurance system, which would create a new customer base for private hospitals.