OBJECTIVES: Drug-eluting stents (DESs) have been considered to be generally superior to bare-metal stents (BMSs) for its lower rates of target-vessel revascularization. The National Health Insurance (NHI) started reimbursing BMSs in July 1999. But when it came to DESs, balanced-billing was employed to reimburse DESs under the pressure of NHI’s widening financial deficits. Patients who chose DESs would need to pay the differences between the price of DESs charged by providers and the fee schedule of BMSs set by NHI. Whether distribution of DESs would concentrate in patients with higher socioeconomic status remained an unanswered research question. This study aimed to examine the influence of socioeconomic factors on the choice between DESs and BMSs in Taiwan.  METHODS: Patients who admitted in the hospitals for coronary stenting during December 1, 2006 to December 31, 2007 in the Taiwan National Health Insurance (NHI) claims database were identified as the study cases. The Cox proportional hazard model was preformed to evaluate the relationship between socioeconomic factors and the likelihood of choosing DESs, controlling for other patients’ demographical factors and providers’ characteristics.  RESULTS: There were 3773 cases of DESs and 7413 BMSs in the observation period. Patients who were with higher wage income level and residing in the northern part of Taiwan were significantly more likely to choose DESs. Veterans and patients from low-income households were significantly less likely to choose DESs. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic factors seemed to be strong predictors of choosing DESs. Future research on the implications of disparities in using DESs is warranted to evaluate the impact of the balance-bill on equity of health in Taiwan.