No guarantee new rates won't be applied before lunar new year

TAIPEI: Yesterday, Department of Health (DOH) chief Yaung Chih-liang defended the department's policy of adjusting the public health insurance premiums, saying that the measure is necessary to fill the program's NT$60 billion fiscal shortfall.

Yaung declined to give a specific timeline for the implementation of the policy and said he "cannot guarantee" that the premiums will not be adjusted before the Chinese New Year holiday in mid-February.

He announced a day earlier the DOH plan to introduce different premium rates that reflect the income status of the payees, so that higher-income earners will have to pay more.

At present, a standard premium rate - which stands at 4.55 percent - applies to all, regardless of how much they earn.

Yaung explained that under the new plan, four income brackets will be adopted.

Those who are in the bottom 25 percent of the wealth pyramid will "probably" see their premiums decreased to 4.5 percent, while the rate for those in the top 25 percent might be raised to 5.5 percent, he said.

He said the adjustments will be completely lawful, because the ceiling currently set according to law is 6 percent.

The results of a survey released yesterday by the "Bureau of National Health Insurance" show that 84 percent of a total of 1,109 respondents said they were aware that the insurance program is operating with a deficit.

Sixty-six percent of the respondents agreed that the wealthy should be required to pay higher premiums, and 55 percent expressed support for the DOH plan to slightly increase the premium rate for those earning between NT$30,000 and NT$40,000 per month, so that they would have to pay an extra NT$60-NT$80 per month.

Meanwhile, 56 percent of the respondents said they believe reducing medicine costs and unnecessary medical spending could help resolve the program's fiscal problem, while 61 percent opposed decreasing the insurance coverage to improve the operation of the program.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou told reporters Wednesday that the government will deal with the health insurance issue very carefully and will make sure not to increase the premium burden on the financially disadvantaged.

Also commenting on the issue yesterday, opposition Democratic Progressive Party legislators Huang Wei-cher and Huang Sue-ying said the DOH should first collect the payments owed by local governments before changing the premiums.

According to Huang Sue-ying, when people are already living hard lives, raising the premiums will "impose a great psychological burden" on them.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 01/29/2010 page2)