The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday defended its second-generation health plan, saying the new plan would benefit households with more financial dependents such as spouses or children.
DOH officials yesterday continued to answer legislators’ questions about the proposed amendments to the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) at the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee meeting.
The department has recently come under fire from the Consumers’ Foundation and other civic groups, which have said that the second-generation health plan would create a heavier burden for ordinary single or double-income households, while letting the wealthy pay relatively little.
Son Yu-lian (孫友聯), convener of the National Health Insurance Civic Surveillance Alliance, said that a majority of families have few children and because they have few dependents, these small families would still bear the brunt of rising insurance premiums.
Son said that a public hearing was necessary to discuss issues such as which types of income are included in the calculation of premiums charged per household.
Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) defended the health plan by saying that the premium rate would most likely not exceed 2.7 percent, and that the public would not see their premiums soar to high levels as some critics have suggested.
Chu Tong-kuang (曲同光), a deputy convener of a DOH task force on insurance premiums, said that the second-generation plan would be more beneficial to households with more dependents, because each additional dependent would be charged a diminishing premium, while households with fewer dependents and more income sources may have to shoulder a heavier share of the burden.
DOH officials confirmed that certain households, such as a single person earning a single income with no dependents, would have to pay more under the new plan.
However, a dual-income family with dependents such as parents and children would pay less than under the current plan, they said.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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