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Wealthier might have to pay more for health care

Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) said yesterday the ministry was mulling “taxing” the wealthy to help solve the National Health Insurance (NHI) system’s financial woes.

The ministry is mulling requiring people who win the lottery, inherit wealth or real estate or have income from stock earnings or other forms of non-salaried income to pay more than their NHI premium, Yeh told a press conference at the Government Information Office.

The tax base for this group would be about NT$1.5 trillion (US$44.9 billion), Yeh said.

The ministry was also considering lowering premiums for those who cannot afford the cost, he said.

The plan, if approved by the Cabinet and the legislature, would affect between 2 million and 3 million wealthy people and help some 7 million economically disadvantaged people, Yeh said.

Yeh said the NHI system would face a debt of NT$26 billion by the end of the year.

“The debt could amount to NT$50 billion in another two years if we don’t do something,” he said.

Calling the measure “necessary,” Yeh said the NHI system would “deteriorate” without the plan.

“The rich should pay more while the poor should pay less. This is how it ought to be done,” he said.

The ministry would provide details of the plan, which would be enforced “until the economy recovers,” to the premier and the legislature by the end of the year, he said.

Yeh also said the ministry hoped to raise the health surcharge on cigarettes to NT$20 per pack by Lunar New Year and suggested that 62 percent of the surcharge should go toward supporting the NHI system.
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