Fewer elections: Yaung

Caucus whip Lin Hung-chih said caucus members fully backed the Cabinet's plan because it means that premiums for only those with a monthly salary of over NT$50,000, accounting for 25 percent of the insured population, would be adjusted upward.

“The caucus supports adopting a tiered rate system to calculate NHI premiums, which would have people with the financial means to carry a slightly heavier burden and help underprivileged groups,” Lin said.

Under Yaung's proposal, premiums for those whose monthly income of more than NT$24,000 per month would have to pay higher premiums, a situation that would be unacceptable to most of the public, Lin argued.

Legislators of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party are adamantly against an extensive premium rate hike for fearing of losing votes in elections.

But they took Yaung's resignation tender to attack the flip-flop of the current administration's policies that have caused the departure of three DOH chiefs in less than two years.

Government Share

The Bureau of National Health Insurance (BNHI) said that unless the government is willing to pay a bigger share for the NHI program, it will be difficult to solve the problems plaguing the cash-strapped insurance system.

BNHI Director-General Cheng Shou-shia was referring to Premier Wu's recent directive that 75 percent of the population enrolled in the compulsory health insurance program must not be affected by a plan to increase premiums.

According to a BNHI proposal, however, more people and employers will have to share a higher cost with only 59 percent of the insured remaining unaffected.

Cheng said that if the BNHI wants to achieve the Cabinet's goal, the share of funds paid into the system by the government will have to be raised to 39 percent.

The government, at present, shoulders 10 percent of the cost per insured person, while the employer pays 60 percent and the individual pays 30 percent.

“But this will involve a legal amendment by the legislature, which will be a time-consuming process that will not help resolve the system's immediate financial woes,” he said.

There is also the question of where the government would get the money to pay for the additional expense, he added.

Cheng, who tendered his resignation along with DOH Minister Yaung a day earlier, said that when Yaung invited him to serve as BNHI head, he was told his most important task was to work out a proposal to balance the books of the NHI program.

Describing the program as now floundering, Cheng said it would be “irresponsible” for the government to keep the premiums unchanged while continuing to borrow money from the banks to support the program.

He also said the adjustment of premium rates will need greater “political acumen,” implying that the government should get over its reservations about raising premiums in an election year — elections will be held for five municipalities at the end of the year.

He said that according to estimates, the program will need to at least break even for the next five years if it is to stay afloat.

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