The Supervisory Committee of National Health Insurance yesterday allayed fears of an imminent hike in health insurance premiums, saying it had not yet reached a final decision and that further discussion was necessary.
Committee chairman Shih Yaw-tang (石曜堂) yesterday responded to a report in the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister paper). The report on Thursday quoted Department of Health Deputy Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) as saying that the department was facing a shortfall of NT$23 billion (US$701 million) next year, and had proposed raising health insurance premiums for two categories of insured groups from October.
Shih yesterday said that the subject had not even been put on the agenda for yesterday's committee meeting.
However, the secretary-general of the Chunghua Association of Public Finance, Chu Tzer-min (朱澤民), who participated in the meeting, admitted that the Bureau of National Health Insurance was experiencing serious financial difficulties.
There is only between NT$1 billion and NT$2 billion left in the bureau's standard reserves, which prompted the committee to establish a team to examine the bureau's finances and present a relief scheme to the health department, he said.
Although Chu confirmed that the committee would consider raising premiums for labor union members, sailors, farmers and fishermen, neither he nor Shih would specify when that might happen.
The health department is also considering raising the minimum salary level used to calculate the premiums of labor union members, sailors, farmers and fishermen from NT$19,200 to NT$20,100, according to the paper.
The report also quoted Chu Tung-kuang (
According to the National Health Insurance Act (
Any change in the ratio has to be approved by the supervisory committee before it is sent to the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan for final approval.
The committee yesterday agreed to decrease the average family dependents load which employers are compelled to pay on their employees' behalf from 0.78 to 0.70 per employee, the committee said.
The average dependents load is a ratio used to calculate the insurance fee employers pay to cover the insurance benefits of employees' family members.
The new ratio will result in a NT$8.8 billion reduction in the health insurance bureau's annual income. Shih said the new policy would take effect next year.
The Democratic Progressive Party said yesterday that the party was adamantly opposed to raising health insurance premiums.
Party spokesman Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said the party considered such a move to be inappropriate at present, and that the health department should focus instead on recovering unpaid health insurance premiums.
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