Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) made headlines on Monday by suddenly announcing his resignation, catching Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and the public off guard.
Yaung said he wanted to resign because he could not fulfil Wu’s request that 75 percent of those insured be exempted from a proposed increase in health insurance premiums. The Department of Health had proposed exempting only 59 percent of those insured. Saying the difference between the two could not be reconciled, Yaung insisted on leaving even though Wu rejected his resignation.
Yaung said when he took up the job seven months ago that premiums would have to be increased to resolve the National Health Insurance Program’s long-standing deficit. Yaung has kept his word, and his resignation has some lauding him for sticking to his guns and showing a sense of political responsibility.
However, while many are heaping praise on Yaung’s strength of character, many also vividly remember another promise he made when he assumed the post in August — to seek payment from the Taipei City Government on the debt it owes the national healthcare system.
“The Taipei City Government must pay its debt or the National Health Insurance’s finances will collapse sooner or later,” Yaung said at the time, adding that the city’s debt was the bureau’s biggest problem.
Taipei still owes the national healthcare system more than NT$34 billion (US$1.1 billion) and the Supreme Administrative Court has repeatedly ruled that it must pay up. The Kaohsiung City Government owes NT$16 billion, and has proposed paying the central government in installments. Meanwhile, the Taipei City Government has just been stalling.
Bureau of National Health Insurance Director Cheng Shou-hsia (鄭守夏) said the insurance program is running a NT$58.5 billion deficit, and its debt could exceed NT$101.5 billion by year-end. Yaung said the DOH’s proposed premium plan could help the bureau by bringing in an additional NT$4.5 billion per year.
Simple math suggests that the national healthcare system could quickly cut its debt nearly in half if Taipei followed Kaohsiung’s lead and paid its share of NT$34 billion. Indeed, the DOH could ask the Ministry of Justice to auction off plots of land that have been confiscated from the city government as security against the unpaid debt.
This begs the question: Why hasn’t Yaung kept his other promise and gone after the Taipei City Government? Could it be because the debt was accrued by former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is now the head of state?
Yaung has demonstrated strength of character by sticking to his word, even if it means putting his career on the line. However, his move may be perceived as little more than pretentious grandstanding when we take into account that he has been selective about which “guns” he sticks to and has avoided going after the big tiger.
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