Implementation of a plan to increase National Health Insurance (NHI) copayments would depend on how the economy performs in the post-COVID-19 era, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said yesterday.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare in April last year said that it would implement a plan in May last year to boost NHI copayments, but it was postponed due to the first nationwide COVID-19 outbreak.
Hsueh, who became minister in July, had said that the plan might be implemented by the end of this year or early next year, and last week said at the Legislative Yuan that it would more likely be in the first quarter of next year.
Photo: CNA
However, asked at the NHI Administration (NHIA) if the new scheme would be implemented as scheduled, he said that the exact date to launch the scheme has not been decided, but added that it should be in the first half of next year.
Two factors might affect the schedule, the local COVID-19 situation — where there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel — and economic recovery from the pandemic, he said.
If the economic recovery is not strong enough, the scheme could be postponed, as it could affect people’s livelihoods by adding to medical fees, although there are protective measures for underprivileged people, he said, adding that further assessment was needed.
NHIA Director-General Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) said the new copayment scheme would not add a significant income for the NHI system, but hopefully it would make people more aware of medical costs, reducing waste of medical resources.
Lee said he believes the ministry would find the best timing to implement the plan.
Meanwhile, Hsueh said that the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) might need to be amended to allocate budgets for COVID-19 prevention and response measures with the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例) to expire in June.
The Centers for Disease Control’s amendment task force has discussed the issue and would report to him, he said, adding that he would provide feedback after that.
Additional reporting by CNA
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