Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) yesterday defended the decision to raise National Health Insurance premiums as necessary to resolve the program’s NT$60 billion (US$1.88 billion) fiscal shortfall.
Yaung declined to give a time line for implementing the policy, but said it could be before the Lunar New Year holiday.
On Wednesday Yaung unveiled the DOH’s plan to introduce a premium rate scale to reflect individual income, with higher income brackets paying more.
At present, the premium rate of 4.55 percent applies to everyone.
Yaung yesterday said four income brackets would be adopted. People in the bottom 25 percent of the wealth pyramid will “probably” see their premiums fall to 4.5 percent, while the rate for those in the top 25 percent could rise to 5.5 percent, he said.
Yaung said the adjustments were lawful because the statutory cap is 6 percent.
Meanwhile, a poll by the Bureau of National Health Insurance released yesterday showed that 84 percent of 1,109 respondents said they were aware that the insurance program is operating in a deficit.
“Sixty-six percent agreed that richer people should pay a higher premium,” said Chen Hsiao-ping (陳孝平), deputy director-general for the bureau, adding that 55 percent supported a slight increase in premium rates for those earning between NT$30,000 and NT$40,000 per month that would entail paying an extra NT$60 to NT$80 per month.
Meanwhile, 56 percent of respondents said they believed cutting medicine costs and unnecessary medical spending could help resolve the fiscal problems, while 61 percent opposed decreasing insurance coverage to improve the operation of the program.
Commenting on the matter, Democratic Progressive Party legislators Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) and Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) yesterday said the DOH should collect payments owed to it by local governments before hiking premiums.
The public is already struggling, and raising premiums would be “a great psychological burden” on them, the lawmakers said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG
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