About 60 percent of the people covered by national health insurance (NHI) will have lower premiums when a second-generation NHI system is implemented, Taiwan’s Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang said Monday.
“The new system will be to the advantage of more instead of fewer people” since most people in Taiwan have dependent family members and are salaried employees, Yaung said.
According to DOH data on NNI premium rates in the past two years, some 60 percent of the insured would have lower payments once the new insurance system is introduced, he added.
The NHI system proposes that insurance premiums be calculated based on total household income instead of individual salaries of the insured, as is the case at present.
However, opposition party lawmakers have raised concerns that the majority of people would have to pay higher premiums under the new system.
The Legislative Yuan has set Dec. 7 as its deadline for passing the DOH-proposed amendments to the existing NHI Act, which would allow for the new premium system to take effect.
But there are 20 clauses in the bill that have not yet been put to a vote. In addition, lawmakers from across party lines have expressed reservations about the fairness of the proposed formula for calculating premiums.
At a press conference held Monday by KMT lawmakers, Yaung said the amendments are aimed at expanding care for the disadvantaged, and include a premium exemption for severely disabled people and unemployed aboriginal people over 55 and under 19 years of age.
In addition, the number of people who would be exempt from premium payments would increase further if the proposed amendments to the Public Assistance Act are also passed, Yaung noted.
Under the amendments, low-income households are not required to pay health insurance premiums and the bar for being defined as a low income family has been lowered, he said.
Source : Focus Taiwan
