Regulations must be amended for retired older adults to enroll for National Health Insurance (NHI) on their own, without being a enrolled as a dependent of their children or another direct blood relative, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) said yesterday, after a Facebook post detailed a person’s troubles obtaining insurance.
As monthly NHI premiums are withheld from salaries, older retired people are required to enroll in the system through their children, or a direct relative, as a dependent, and can only enroll independently at their household registration office if the two options do not apply.
Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders founder Chen Li-yin (陳莉茵) last week wrote on Facebook that her NHI status changed to being a dependent of her husband after she retired at age 67.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Following her husband’s death in March, her NHI status was removed without notice, and she only received a letter from the NHI’s Taipei office this month, informing her that she needs to enroll with the NHI program through her son, or she could face a fine, Chen said.
After contacting the office, she learned that retired people can only enroll independently at their household registration office if they have no spouse, children, parents or relatives to claim them as a dependent, or if they have been abandoned or are victim of domestic violence, she said.
“I just want to be an independent older person, can I, or can I not?” she wrote.
NHIA official Chang Wen-wen (張溫溫) yesterday said the rules are based on the NHI’s belief in self-help and mutual help, and the legal obligation under the Civil Code for children to support their parents.
Articles 2, 10, 12 and 15 of the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) stipulate that retired adults aged 65 or older must enroll in the NHI program through a working spouse or direct blood relative, she said.
Only if the enrollee is a victim of domestic violence, has been abandoned or in other special circumstances can they enroll independently, she added.
Enrolling in the NHI is compulsory, so all people who are qualified must enroll, and while the system has six categories for enrollment, including for the unemployed, being retired is not one of them, Chang said.
If a retired person’s children are also unemployed, a retired couple are childless, or a retired person has no spouse or children, they can enroll with the NHI as a member of the sixth category, she said.
If a retired person repeatedly refuses to enroll with the NHI through their children or direct blood relative, they can face a fine up to NT$15,000 and be temporarily excluded from NHI-covered healthcare services until they have paid the insurance premium, she said.
The administration has heard the call for allowing retired people to enroll independently, but it needs to carefully evaluate it, and regulations must be amended for it to be feasible, she said.
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