The Executive Yuan plans to submit a draft bill to the legislature by the end of this year to pave the way for implementation of a long-term health care insurance system by 2011, a Department of Health report said.
The report, compiled by relevant ministries and agencies and signed by Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), stated that the system would be implemented by the Bureau of National Health Insurance.
Yeh said in the report that the preliminary plan was to either provide coverage to every citizen or to people over the age of 40, but that further discussion would be required before a final decision could be made.
The benefits to insured citizens would mainly be the provision and insured coverage of services such as home, community and institutionalized care, he said. In addition, cash payouts would be made to insured persons with some type of disability based on their degree of disability, he said.
However, to qualify for coverage, people would be required to pay their premiums in advance, he said, adding that the insured would also share a part of the care services costs.
The long-term health care insurance plan is part of the government’s national social welfare program, and is intended to address the needs of an increasing number of elderly citizens who are unable to care for themselves, and of people suffering from chronic diseases.
An assessment by the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) showed the percentage of the population at 65 years of age and over would rise from 9.95 percent (around 2.27 million people) in 2006 to 20 percent (some 4.76 million) in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) reported that as of this year, Taiwan had a workforce of 44,346 people trained as caregivers. Some 4,111 are employed at government institutions and with civil groups that offer home care services, and 9,926 at homes for the elderly, it said.
To ensure there will be an adequate number of caregivers to work in the proposed long-term care system, the council has budgeted NT$173 million (US$5.1 million) to train another 32,000 caregivers from last year to 2011, the CLA report said.
The legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee is expected to ask officials including CEPD Chairman Chen Tain-jy (陳添枝), CLA Chairwoman Jennifer Wang (王如玄) and Yeh to hold briefings on the issue and to answer lawmakers’ questions at the Legislative Yuan soon.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS