The Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) is expected to propose a bill by the end of this year on a long-term care insurance system requiring a budget of between NT$25 billion (US$767.4 million) and NT$30 billion a year, Minister without Portfolio Tsai Tsun-hsiung (蔡勳雄) said yesterday.
Two versions of the plan — one providing long-term healthcare insurance to every citizen, the other covering people over the age of 40 — are being mulled.
The difference between the two versions lies in insurance premiums, said Tsai, who is coordinating an interministerial effort to develop the system.
The premiums would be lower if a universal mandatory long-term care program were adopted, the CEPD was quoted as saying.
On the other hand, if the plan provided coverage only for people above the age of 40, the insurance premiums would be higher, it said.
The CEPD will hold a series of hearings and forums around Taiwan to gauge the opinion of local governments and residents, Tsai said.
Once the program takes effect, all insured citizens will be eligible to apply for some type of long-term care, following evaluation by a planned bureau in charge of executing the program and the social welfare authorities, he said. The insured would receive services based on the terms and conditions of their insurance plan, including in-home nursing and organizational care, he added.
At present, the most important task of the government is to build long-term care facilities, create partnerships with long-term care organizations and help train skilled caregivers in preparation for the program, Tsai said.
If the bill is adopted, a bureau responsible for implementing the program would be created, he said.
The bureau would be under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health or the proposed Ministry of Health and Welfare, he said.
At a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) said he hoped the program would be written into legislation next year to pave the way for its implementation by 2011.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese