The Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) yesterday said it would relax restrictions governing certain groups of disadvantaged people with non-valid National Health Insurance (NHI) cards requiring medical care.
The move came after civic groups complained that about 300,000 people who, for various reasons, had NHI cards that were not valid, cannot afford to pay their health insurance premiums.
At present, that means when those individuals become sick, they face the additional financial burden of being unable to receive medical care under the national health insurance system.
The bureau said about 600,000 people owe money to the NHI system. About half have owed at least NT$7,500 for more than three months and have not paid their premiums when encouraged to do so by health authorities. As a result, their NHI cards are now invalid.
While some of the 600,000 cannot afford the premium payments, others can, but refuse to do so or have other unresolved issues, such as being out of the country, said Deng Shih-hui (鄧世輝), a section chief at the bureau.
While the second-generation health bill stipulates that NHI cards cannot be canceled when people are in certain dire circumstances, such as living in sheltered accommodation as a result of domestic violence, the bill has yet to be passed.
During an extraordinary legislative session late last month, legislators decided that the review of the bill to reform the NHI system would be delayed until December.
In the meantime, the BNHI said it would follow instructions from the Executive Yuan to relax restrictions on the provision of medical care to those with invalid NHI cards.
However, Deng said to be fair to those who make prompt NHI premium payments, the bureau would also step up efforts to investigate the validity of the reasons behind unpaid premiums and demand payment from those who are deemed able to pay.
The bureau is also encouraging disadvantaged invalid NHI cardholders to seek help and counseling from social services and to set up payment plans.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
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