The official restructuring of the Department of Health as the Ministry of Health and Welfare was completed yesterday, with the integration of resources and the establishment of the Social and Family Affairs Administration and the Department of Social Insurance being the major changes made, the ministry said.
The Bureau of National Health Insurance has become the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) and the Bureau of Health Promotion is now the Health Promotion Administration.
The Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration will keep the names, but are now a notch higher in the bureaucratic hierarchy.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Other notable changes are the incorporation of the Social and Family Affairs Administration and the Department of Social Insurance.
The former has integrated the bodies that are in charge of the welfare of women, senior citizens and people with disabilities that were previously under the Ministry of Interior’s Department of Social Affairs, as well as the Child Welfare Bureau, which was also previously under the interior ministry.
The goal of the administration is the implementation of a family and community-centered total care system, the agency said.
The social insurance department, on the other hand, has been restructured to have a better and more comprehensive grip on the three major social insurances, the NHI, the national pension and long-term care insurance.
The integration of resources made possible by the restructuring, among other tasks, is “to break the cycle of poverty-made illness and illness-made poverty and to provide better care for elderly people in an aging society,” the ministry said.
That is to be achieved by strengthening social insurance, developing a long-term care system, building healthcare and welfare clouds for comprehensive care, upgrading medical services in rural areas and connecting the public health and social resources provided at the central level and those at the local level to build an all-encompassing social security network, the ministry said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
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The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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