The Consumers’ Foundation yesterday called on the government to suspend or lower its planned increase of National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums in light of economic woes felt in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) is considering raising premiums from 4.69 percent to 5.52 or 5.55 percent.
Income for businesses and ordinary people worldwide have taken a beating from the pandemic, the foundation said, urging the government to “feel the suffering of the people” and either freeze or lower the premium hike.
Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
Article 3 of the National Health Insurance Act (全民健保法) stipulates that the government “should at least shoulder 36 percent of the remainder of the annual insurance budget minus promulgated revenues,” foundation deputy director-general Wu Jung-ta (吳榮達) said.
With the NHI’s finances in a sorry state and the end of the pandemic uncertain, the government should show compassion for the challenges people are enduring and bear a larger proportion of health insurance premiums, Wu said.
The government should budget for health expenditures and avoid adding to the burden placed on the NHI by leaving payments up to the agency, he added.
As for expanding revenue channels for the NHI, Wu pointed to Article 76 of the act, which allows for a “social health and welfare surcharge” to be placed on sales of alcohol and tobacco to generate revenue for the NHI reserve fund.
A tobacco surcharge has been implemented for many years, but an equivalent tax on alcohol has not yet been levied, he said.
Wu also recommended that the government consider emulating other nations by imposing a sugar tax, which could raise awareness of the dangers associated with consuming excessive amounts of sugar and provide a significant revenue source for the NHI.
According to the NHI’s estimated budget for next year, if premiums remain unchanged and additional funds are not raised elsewhere, the NHI reserve fund would fall below safe levels by the end of the year.
Officials therefore plan to discuss raising premiums during the NHI Committee meeting on Friday next week.
At this point, as raising premiums for next year appears inevitable, the government should at least consider limiting the premium to 4.91 or 5.17 percent at most, the amount it used to be, Wu added.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
RSS