A proposal by medical groups to allocate NT$24.7 billion (US$775.6 million) to fund the National Health Insurance (NHI) system and boost the NHI point value is not feasible, as it exceeds the amount available for negotiations, estimated at NT$17.4 billion, National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.
Negotiations on apportioning the NHI global budget of more than NT$900 billion for next year were held on Wednesday, attended by premium payer representatives, medical groups and NHIA personnel.
The NHI global budget next year could range between NT$928.6 billion — an increase of NT$53 billion from this year — assuming a growth rate of 5.5 percent, and NT$911.2 billion, based on a growth rate of 3.521 percent, Shih told reporters.
Photo: Taipei Times
The NT$17.4 billion difference between the high and low end of the forecast range is the negotiable amount from next year’s budget for hospitals, primary Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and dentistry, he said.
Negotiations with premium payer representatives would break down if the figure proposed by medical representatives exceeds the negotiable amount, Shih added.
Taiwan Hospital Association chairperson Lee Fei-peng (李飛鵬) said in statement that the proposed NT$24.7 billion could increase the point value and fund NHI payments for basic diagnosis and treatment, including nursing and dispensing fees.
The figure was proposed to balance the books and provide reasonable wages for medical practitioners, as the point value stipulated by current NHI payment standards lacks cost analysis and does not reflect the sharp rise in commodity prices, he said.
Meanwhile, medical representatives said the budget for treatment and medications for rare diseases, HIV infection and hepatitis C infection should be excluded from the NHI global budget and funded instead by the central government budget in accordance with the Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Act (罕見疾病防治及藥物法) and other regulations.
The Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders criticized the medical sector’s proposal, saying that Article 33 of the act specifies that the central government’s budget would only subsidize diagnosis, treatment and medications for rare diseases that are “not covered by the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法).”
Nearly 17,000 patients with rare diseases would be affected if they are excluded from the NHI payment system, it said in a statement.
The NHI global budget for this year includes more than NT$10 billion for rare diseases. and it would continue to increase next year with an addition of NT$2 billion funded by the Executive Yuan’s budget, Shih said, promising that rare diseases would not be removed from the NHI global budget.
Premium payer representatives questioned the inclusion of cancer screening fees of nearly NT$3.5 billion into next year’s global budget, which it said should be covered by the Health Promotion Administration.
Shih replied that new cancer cases would increase next year as free cancer screening has been expanded to include more people, so the budget for treatment and medications must be increased for the new cases.
While this could result in a short-term surge, expenditure from treating severe cases would significantly decline over the longer term, he said.
Shih added that NHI premiums would not rise next year, despite increases in dispensing and other fees as the global budget would be enough to cover the extra amount.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
RSS