Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) said yesterday that the new National Health Insurance (NHI) system is “highly likely” to be put into practice next year.
Yaung, who tendered his resignation and agreed to stay until the end of the month as the search for his successor continues, attended the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday as usual and presented a briefing on the new NHI system.
An amendment to the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) cleared the legislature on Tuesday.
Yaung, the third DOH minister since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) took office about 20 months ago, said he did not recommend anyone to fill his position, even though he was asked by his supervisors to offer some suggestions.
Under the amended law, a person’s premium will be calculated based on his or her individual salary, as with the current system, rather than the combined incomes of each person in a household as Yaung had proposed.
Yaung compromised on the revised bill after the Executive Yuan and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers agreed to impose a “supplementary premium” on individuals who make extra income from investments, rents or bonuses that are four times their monthly salary to keep the cash-strapped NHI system afloat.
Under the new two-track system, premium rates on constant insured monthly salaries will be decreased to 4.91 percent from 5.17 percent, while the premium rate for -additional income in the first year of implementation was set at 2 percent.
Despite criticism leveled by civil watchdogs as well as former health officers, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) applauded Yaung’s performance in pushing through the reform. Wu was quoted by Executive Yuan spokesman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) as having described the reformed bill as an “ideal” and “practical” scheme.
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