About 50 percent of people will see their monthly health insurance premiums rise if the Cabinet's draft amendments to the National Health Insurance Law (
"This amendment was approved by the Cabinet a few weeks ago but Vice Premier Tsai Ing-wen [蔡英文] has held it back for the past few weeks to make a minor adjustment. It is my understanding that the amendment was eventually submitted to the legislature late on Wednesday but we cannot confirm what the minor adjustment will be," said a high-ranking Government Information Office official who wished to remain anonymous.
According to Cabinet statistics, nearly 50 percent of the public will have to pay more for their health insurance.
Should the amendment become effective as scheduled on Jan. 1 next year, an insured person will not have to file documents to transfer their coverage when changing jobs, and overseas Taiwanese will become ineligible for coverage unless they reside in Taiwan for more than four consecutive months.
The draft stipulates that a new rate for monthly health insurance premiums of 3.14 percent of the insured household's annual income.
In addition, insurance premiums will be based on the total income of an entire household instead of individual income.
For instance, if a household of four earns about NT$800,000 (US$25,157), each person will have to pay NT$523 per month. However, if there is only one person in the household earning the same amount, this person would have to pay NT$2,093 per month.
The minimum monthly premium per person under the new regulation will be NT$300, with the maximum set at NT$3,000.
Under the current system there are no minimum or maximum premium limits.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
RSS