Limited progress was made yesterday on a proposal to reform the National Health Insurance (NHI) premium scheme, despite efforts by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to push the bill through as soon as possible.
Lawmakers reached a consensus that the Department of Health should propose a hypothetical calculation of NHI premiums based on the scheme advanced by the department.
Legislators would then compare the department’s scheme with that proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) before voting on the department’s bill, KMT caucus whip Lin Yi-shih (林益世) told reporters after cross-party negotiations in the morning.
An initial version of a reformed NHI plan proposed by the department failed to pass a second and third reading in the legislature on Dec. 7, forcing Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) to propose a new version, which he submitted to the legislature on Dec. 16.
Under the new version, an individual’s premium would be calculated based on income from interest, share dividends, professional practice and any cash awards that are four times more than a person’s monthly salary.
The department’s previous proposal would have had premiums calculated based on total household income, rather than an individual’s salary as is done at present. The DPP’s proposal is similar to the original version proposed by the department.
The DPP has been critical of the new version, calling it “unfair” because it does not cap supplementary earnings or include pension funds and rent income as part of its income calculations.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) yesterday questioned the feasibility of the new version of the bill advanced by the department.
“The Executive Yuan said it would like to lower the premiums for 70 percent of the people under the proposed scheme, but it also wanted to lower the premium rate. However, it is impossible. Even God can’t make that happen,” Ker said.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said that although the KMT caucus would like to push through the department’s proposal by Friday, legislators should vote on the bill on Tuesday next week, which would give the department a week to submit the hypothetical calculations to the legislature.
Meanwhile, the legislature passed an amendment to the Offshore Islands Development Act (離島建設條例) obliging the government to grant living expense stipends to students who study on outlying islands, but have difficulty traveling back home to other outlying islands after school.
Non-Partisan Solidarity Union Legislator Lin Ping-kun (林炳坤), who proposed the amendment, said students living on smaller offshore islands sometimes had no choice but to stay on major islands after school because of limited transportation services.
At present, the government only provides stipends for transportation, Lin said.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition