Taiwan’s single-payer success story — and its lessons for America

The first in a Vox series on how countries around the world achieve universal health care.

Thirty years ago, before she dyed her hair pink to cover up the white, Dr. Huei-wen Tien came to Xiulin, a township on the east coast of Taiwan severed from the island’s urban centers by a formidable mountain range.

She had agreed to serve for 10 years in an aboriginal community in exchange for her medical education. Unconventional by nature — her motorcycle helmet says “Punk” — Tien says she wanted a challenge. She...