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.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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