Health reform groups yesterday criticized the government’s policy of raising the minimum threshold for imposing the National Health Insurance’s (NHI) supplementary premium on income from part-time jobs as a move aimed at winning votes.
The policy — raising the minimum threshold for imposing the NHI supplementary premiums from NT$5,000 to NT$20,000 starting from Jan. 1 next year — was announced on Thursday by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Representatives of civic groups yesterday morning held up signs reading “only listening to the Financial Supervisory Commission, not the National Health Insurance Committee,” and “Making profit for capital gains, harsh on salary earners,” criticizing the policy and chanting demands for a “reasonable and fair” NHI system.
Invited to speak at the protest and sign a petition with the groups, former minister of health Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) said: “Only ghosts would believe that the policy was not made according to political calculations,” because it is not urgent and does not directly improve the quality of healthcare.
According to regulations, adjustments to NHI premiums should be decided by the NHI committee, which consists of delegates from different groups and academics, but now the ministry arbitrarily excludes the committee from the decisionmaking process, which is disrespectful to the body which represents the public, he said.
“Would it not be better to use the NHI reserve fund to take care of low-income households or easing the working conditions of medical staff? That way the whole population would be able to benefit from it,” he said.
“Money from the NHI system should be returned to the NHI and the NHI committee should decide how to make use of it,” Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation chief executive officer Joanne Liu (劉淑瓊) said, adding that the group is in favor of using the NHI reserve fund to improve the quality of medical services, rather than sparing some people from paying supplementary premiums on non-salary incomes.
Kuo Ming-cheng (郭明政), a professor of law at National Chengchi University, said the second-generation NHI program was designed to reduce the gap between the rich and the poor, but as it had not yet succeeded in collecting premiums by total household income, the policy is once again only profiting the few people with non-salary incomes.
“Salary earners — about 80 percent of the population — are carrying rich people on their backs, widening the gap between the rich and the poor,” Raging Citizens Act Now representative Ku Yu-ling (顧玉玲) said.
“The policy is aimed at encouraging investment and punishing salaried employees,” she said, adding that even medical staff at hospitals are victims of the current NHI system, which benefits the enterprises that own hospitals, not its employees.
“The NHI system should not be politically manipulated to secure votes,” Taiwan Medical Alliance for Labor Justice and Patient Safety secretary-general Lai I-ching (賴奕菁) said, adding that the system had never paid medical staff enough, causing hospital management to impose harsh working conditions and resulting in talented staff quitting their jobs.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
RSS