Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said yesterday the long-standing controversy over the allocation of national health insurance premiums between the central government and local governments is expected to be resolved soon.
The controversy lies in different interpretations of Article 27 of the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) on a method for calculating insurance contributions.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Administrative Court handed down a final verdict against the Taipei City Government in a lawsuit challenging the central government’s interpretation that municipal governments must make partial payments for people who work in the city.
The Taipei City Government argued that it was not its responsibility to pay the insurance for people who work in the city but have their household residence registered outside the city.
Despite losing the lawsuit, the Taipei City Government has yet to repay NT$34.7 billion (US$1.06 billion) in debt, accumulated since 1999, when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), then-Taipei city mayor, launched the boycott.
Su said Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) and Hsueh Hsiang-chuan (薛香川), Executive Yuan secretary-general, have talked the Taipei City Government into accepting a compromise deal.
Under the deal, the Taipei City Government will pay health insurance subsidies for people who work in Taipei and have registered as Taipei residents, while the central government will share half the subsidies for people who work in Taipei and are not registered as Taipei residents.
Since the national health insurance system was launched in March 1995, local governments have cited financial difficulties as an excuse for not paying the fees.
The Bureau of National Health Insurance said local governments had defaulted on NT$60.3 billion in debt as of last year.
The Executive Yuan is revising regulations on the allocation problem and improving the financial structure of local governments to resolve the issue, Su said.
On Thursday, Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) said he would prioritize the collection of National Health Insurance debt payments owed by local governments.
Among the 18 local governments that owe the Bureau of National Health Insurance the NT$60.3 billion in total debt, the Taipei City Government tops the list with NT$34.7 billion in debt.
Yang described the city government’s debt as the bureau’s biggest problem, saying: “The Taipei City Government must pay its debt or the National Health Insurance’s finances will collapse sooner or later.”
The Kaohsiung City Government came in second with NT$17.8 billion in debt, while the Taipei County Government ranked third with NT$4.3 billion.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation
Taiwan and the US have begun trade negotiations over tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said in an interview this morning before reporting to the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO), Taiwan’s de facto embassy in the US, has already established communication channels with the US Department of State and the US Trade Representative (USTR), and is engaging in intensive consultations, he said. Points of negotiation include tariffs, non-tariff trade barriers and issues related to investment, procurement and export controls, he
RSS