Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) yesterday proposed holding discussions on the “1.5 Generation National Health Insurance [NHI] Act” during the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee at the legislature, a proposal that was snubbed by lawmakers.
“We need to work out the NHI’s financial problems or it will not last much longer,” Yeh said.
Yeh had been invited to give a briefing on the department’s operations during the meeting. The minister also briefed lawmakers about the latest developments in the “1.5 Generation NHI Act” and emphasized the financial problems that are haunting the NHI.
The proposed plan would require individuals to pay a supplementary premium if they earned more than NT$180,000 a year in non-salary income.
The Bureau of National Health Insurance said the plan would affect about 2.2 million people who earn large amounts of non-salary income from sources such as year-end bonuses, stocks, dividends, bank interest and rent.
The proposal was shelved last month after a public outcry.
In addition to trying to revitalize the “1.5 Generation NHI Act” debate, Yeh also proposed three solutions to fix the NHI’s financial problems — decreasing deductibles, increasing premiums and replacing the current NHI with “2 Generation NHI Act,” which has been stuck in the legislature for three years.
In addition to the proposal for a “2 Generation NHI Act,” Yeh said the “1.5 Generation NHI Act” would be the most sufficient solution under the present circumstances.
“Nobody likes the idea of paying more to see a doctor or paying more premiums for insurance,” Yeh said. “Only the wealthy will pay more under the ‘1.5 Generation NHI Act.’ I think this would be appropriate.”
Yeh said that any changes to the NHI would not be carried out at the moment because of the unfavorable economic climate.
“We’re asking people to pay more. No one will like that. That is why we need to hold that thought, hold more discussions on it and think before we actually make a decision. We must address the financial crisis first,” Yeh said.
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