Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said yesterday the long-standing controversy over the allocation of national health insurance premiums between the central government and local governments is expected to be resolved soon.
The controversy lies in different interpretations of Article 27 of the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) on a method for calculating insurance contributions.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Administrative Court handed down a final verdict against the Taipei City Government in a lawsuit challenging the central government’s interpretation that municipal governments must make partial payments for people who work in the city.
The Taipei City Government argued that it was not its responsibility to pay the insurance for people who work in the city but have their household residence registered outside the city.
Despite losing the lawsuit, the Taipei City Government has yet to repay NT$34.7 billion (US$1.06 billion) in debt, accumulated since 1999, when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), then-Taipei city mayor, launched the boycott.
Su said Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) and Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川), Executive Yuan secretary-general, have talked the Taipei City Government into accepting a compromise deal.
Under the deal, the Taipei City Government will pay health insurance subsidies for people who work in Taipei and have registered as Taipei residents, while the central government will share half the subsidies for people who work in Taipei and are not registered as Taipei residents.
Since the national health insurance system was launched in March 1995, local governments have cited financial difficulties as an excuse for not paying the fees.
The Bureau of National Health Insurance said local governments had defaulted on NT$60.3 billion in debt as of last year.
The Executive Yuan is revising regulations on the allocation problem and improving the financial structure of local governments to resolve the issue, Su said.
On Thursday, Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) said he would prioritize the collection of National Health Insurance debt payments owed by local governments.
Among the 18 local governments that owe the Bureau of National Health Insurance the NT$60.3 billion in total debt, the Taipei City Government tops the list with NT$34.7 billion in debt.
Yang described the city government’s debt as the bureau’s biggest problem, saying: “The Taipei City Government must pay its debt or the National Health Insurance’s finances will collapse sooner or later.”
The Kaohsiung City Government came in second with NT$17.8 billion in debt, while the Taipei County Government ranked third with NT$4.3 billion.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS