Department of Health officials said yesterday they have shelved plans to increase health-insurance premiums for the time being in favor of making adjustments to the insurance-payment system.
The adjustments would help improve the troubled Bureau of National Health Insurance's bottom line.
"The issue of whether to increase premiums will not be considered until sometime later in May or June, when it is deemed necessary," said Lee Ming-liang (李明亮), director-general of the Department of Health, at a press conference yesterday.
"Right now, we are working on correcting three flaws in the health-insurance payment system that we found to be unfair.
"By adjusting these three areas, we can help bring in approximately NT$20 billion for the financially pressed Bureau of National Health Insurance and sustain its work until next year," he said.
Under the current health care system, people with high incomes pay a lower premium rate than those with low incomes, Lee said.
"Providing national health insurance is an issue that matters to everybody," Lee said. "The rich helping the poor ought to be regarded as the very spirit of Taiwan's national health insurance system."
Health officials also view the different rate applied to government employees as unfair.
"Under the current payment system, workers' premiums are a function of their full-time salary. However premiums for government employees are calculated based on 55 percent of their full-time salary.
"We think it is unfair," Lee said.
The Department of Health also objects to rules that penalize the unemployed.
"Under the National Health Insurance Law, it turns out that unemployed people sometimes find themselves paying more in premiums than people with steady jobs."
Lee added during the press conference that "it is the health department's primary concern to correct this unfairness as soon as possible."
Lee said that the Department of the Health had recently submitted its revision of the National Health Insurance Law to the Executive Yuan. Those revisions are then expected to be turned over to the Legislative Yuan within the next month.
"We hope that the Legislative Yuan will then agree to make a fairer health-insurance system by supporting the amendment to the National Health Insurance Law," he said.
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