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Public insurance payments set to rise next month

National Health Insurance program premiums are set to rise next month, with the 12.3 million people covered by the program required to pay an additional NT$34 per month on average in accordance with a decision taken by the National Health Insurance Bureau at the end of last year.

The rise in premiums will provide the program with an extra NT$12 billion (US$363.9 million) per year.

The extra funds will provide a degree of relief to the cash-strapped program but won't completely bridge its financial gap as the program is expected to run up a debt of NT$20 billion by the end of this year.

Without an increase, a health official said, the financial shortage will reach NT$27 billion by the end of this year.

Those insured in the sixth category, which includes the unemployed and people without regular employers, will see a premium hike of NT$52 -- the largest rise among monthly premiums.

The official said this was because premiums in this category had seen little change compared with other categories.

However, the official said that the public would not feel the pinch until September when they receive notices from the National Health Insurance Bureau to pay their August premium.

The bureau decided last year to expand the base on which the premium was calculated in an effort to keep the insurance program alive.

Following the change, annual premiums for farmers and fishermen will rise from NT$19,200 to NT$20,100 and to NT$33,000 for self-employed workers.

As for government employees and military personnel, the portion of their salary on which the premium will be calculated will be expanded to 89.12 percent.
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