New health insurance system to launch by 2012 if things go as planned

The Executive Yuan passed a draft package of amendments to the "National Health Insurance (NHI) Act" Thursday that, once it clears the legislative floor, will result in higher premiums for about 45 percent of the population.

"Premier" Wu Den-yi said after the approval of the package at an Executive Yuan weekly meeting that he feels sorry that single people will have to pay higher premiums under the proposed legal amendments that will pave the way for the enforcement of a second-generation NHI system.

"It is unlikely that the new program will satisfy everybody... I am sorry that single people will have to pay higher premiums... The government has several programs in place to help young people form their own families," Wu said at a news conference after the Executive Yuan meeting.

Speaking on the same occasion, Department of Health (DOH) chief Yaung Chih-liang said the new system's insurance premium rate will range between 3 percent and 3.5 percent of the insured person's total income.

"The premium rate will not be the previous 4.55 percent nor the current 5.17 percent... In my estimation, the rate is likely to be 3 percent to 3.5 percent," Yaung said.

Unlike the present system, in which premiums are calculated based solely on the insured's employment income, the new scheme will calculate premiums based on total household income, including wages, stock dividends, rental income and other non-salary income.

The broader income base is expected to help keep the healthcare system out of the red, Yaung said, adding that the new scheme will be more equitable, as wealthy households in which income is not mainly job-related will have to pay more, while the financial burden on single-income households and those with many family members will be reduced.

Citing a preliminary estimate by the DOH's NHI Bureau, Yaung said that 50 percent to 60 percent of the population will see their health insurance premiums being lowered or remaining unchanged.

Under the present system, a family of four with a monthly income of NT$50,000 ($1,582.28) has to pay more than NT$3,000 in total health premiums per month, an amount that will be lowered to about NT$1,600 under the new system.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 04/09/2010 page8)