A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker yesterday said the latest version of the National Health Insurance (NHI) reform plan, presented by the Department of Health (DOH) to the legislature on Thursday, was “unfair,” as it failed to cap supplementary earnings and did not include pension funds and rent income as part of its income calculations.
“The rates are a mess right now and the [proposal] is broadly unfair,” DPP Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said.
Huang said the new supplementary earning category, which includes financial gain from stocks, interest, some bonuses and other reward-based compensation, had not been well thought out, since it failed to include an income cap.
“It amounts to a blank check,” she said. “This will create even greater inequality for the National Health Insurance system.”
Meanwhile, she said it wasn’t right to leave funds acquired from pension plans and privately held rental income out of the supplementary income category, which is subject to a 2 percent rate.
The decision, which would have affected hundreds of thousands of public sector workers and retirees, was deliberately left out because of political considerations, Huang said, adding that the substantial differences in rates paid by employees and self-employed business owners were part of the same ploy.
Citing as an example the rates paid by lawyers and business managers, she said that even if both received the same salary of about NT$200,000 a month, lawyers would be paying about NT$7,000 more per month because of the -different rates that business owners are subject to.
“The new proposal is not based on a principle of fairness,” she added. “The Executive Yuan should first issue an impact assessment and then hold hearings to gather a public consensus.”
However, KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) rebutted Huang’s criticism, saying the proposal was more feasible than a previous version that had been proposed.
An initial version of a reformed NHI plan proposed by the KMT caucus failed to pass a second and third reading in the legislature on Dec. 7, forcing Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) to propose a new version, which he submitted to the -legislature on Thursday.
Asked for comment, Lo said the new proposal was expected to help lower the insurance fees of the economically disadvantaged, adding that the KMT caucus had agreed to support the new bill.
Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said he expected the proposal to be put to a second and third reading on Friday at the latest.
Wang is scheduled to invite legislators from across party lines to negotiate the new proposal today.
However, he said the legislature might as well deal with the central government’s fiscal budget request for next year first if lawmakers do not see eye to eye on the NHI bill.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND STAFF WRITER
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS