The nation’s new health chief said yesterday he would prioritize collecting payments of National Health Insurance (NHI) debts owed by local governments.
Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良), who assumed the post of minister of the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday, said that among the 18 local governments that owed the Bureau of National Health Insurance a total of NT$60.3 billion (US$1.8 billion) in debt, Taipei City Government topped the list with NT$34.7 billion.
Describing the city government’s debt as the bureau’s biggest problem, Yaung said: “Taipei City Government must pay its debt or the National Health Insurance’s finances will collapse sooner or later.”
Kaohsiung City Government came in second with NT$17.8 billion in debt, while Taipei County Government ranked third with NT$4.3 billion.
Yaung said another priority would be adjusting the national health insurance premiums.
“There is room for adjustment of health insurance premiums, with higher-income individuals paying higher premiums and the poor paying less,” he said.
Yaung made the remarks after the Control Yuan censured the DOH and the bureau the previous day for failing to promptly increase health insurance premiums when the conditions were appropriate for an adjustment.
For years, the BNHI has been operating in the red, with its accumulated budget deficit already exceeding NT$33.1 billion (US$1 billion). The Control Yuan said it would not rule out impeaching the new health minister if the DOH fails to address the problem within the allotted time.
Yaung said he would ask the bureau next week to come up with a premium adjustment proposal and complementary measures.
The insurance premium should be based on individuals’ overall income, he said.
“The problem lies in that fact that rich people pay too little, while the poor are overloaded, “ Yaung said.
Yaung took over the post from Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), who resigned on Monday to join the Chinese Nationalist Party’s primary for Hualien County commissioner.
Yeh’s request was approved by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) the same day, but drew criticism from lawmakers across partylines who panned him for quitting at a time when the A(H1N1) flu was spreading across the country.
Liu praised Yeh yesterday for his work as health minister and said the administration would continue to seek his advice and assistance in fighting the flu.
Liu was quoted by Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) as saying at a press conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting that Yeh had “wholeheartedly devoted his efforts” to his job as health minister.
“Although Yeh resigned to pursue a new stage in his career, the government still needs Yeh’s experience to combat epidemics in the future,” Su quoted Liu as saying.
Su said the Executive Yuan and the DOH had agreed to set up an anti-epidemic counseling panel, and the premier had asked the DOH to closely monitor the safety of vaccinations.
During the Cabinet meeting, Liu said the government was confident it could effectively handle a disease outbreak and minimize its impact on society.
Thanks to the efforts made by Yeh and other experts to curb its spread, Liu said Taiwan has built one of the world’s most comprehensive anti-epidemic networks.
Yeh briefed the Cabinet yesterday on the DOH’s preparations against the spread of A(H1N1), saying that Adimmune Corp, Taiwan’s only producer of vaccine for swine flu, would produce 4 million doses in November.
In response to grave public concern about the safety of the company’s products, Yeh gave his assurance that DOH personnel would take part in the vaccine’s entire manufacturing and quality control process.
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