Incoming Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) raised eyebrows on his first day in office earlier this month when he vowed to collect debt owed to the National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme from local governments.
He also promised to raise insurance premiums.
Yaung’s comments were regarded as a slap in the face for Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), as of a total of NT$60.3 billion (US$1.8 billion) in debts owed to NHI, Taipei City owes the most, at NT$34.7 billion.
PHOTO: WANG YI-SUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Also, to help make the NHI a fairer system, Yaung said he favored raising insurance premiums, meaning that those with bigger salaries would pay more.
His vow to increase insurance premiums no doubt irritated many business owners and members of the public, with critics saying raising premiums was unwise given the sluggish economy.
Commenting on Yaung’s opening salvo, Asia University honorary professor Wu Kai-hsun (吳凱勳) said Yaung “has been too honest,” adding that this risked irritating people.
“While it is normal to adjust National Health Insurance premiums, to do so will require careful communication,” Wu said. “I’m afraid Yaung’s comments will scare people — especially employers, now that they will have to pay more.”
Prior to taking the job, Yaung was vice president of Asia University in Taichung. Yaung was also described as the “godfather” of Taiwan’s public health industry after devoting most of his career to teaching.
The vice superintendent of education at Chi Mei Hospital’s Liouying branch, Liu Shyun-yeu (劉巡宇), a close friend of Yaung’s, described him as a “friendly neighbor” who always keeps himself busy and is full of new ideas.
“He is a down-to-the-earth person who does not get angry easily,” Liu said.
Liu said that he and Yaung had known each other since 1998, when Yaung joined the DOH as a deputy minister and Liu was an executive officer and special aide to former minister Steve Chan (詹啟賢).
He said Yaung’s priorities did not surprise him at all.
“If he hadn’t said those things, he would not be the guy I have known for so many years,” Liu said.
Liu said Yaung had talked with him on whether he should accept the position as minister prior to making his decision.
“Yaung vowed to fix the problems at the National Health Insurance because he considers them to be his responsibility, since he was one of the architects of the National Health Insurance plan launched 15 years ago,” Liu said.
“Yaung really has guts to say what he said,” Liu said.
Liu, however, said that Yaung’s announcement on his first day in office was not exactly ministerial behavior and that he could end up making enemies who might threaten his career.
“However, he is doing the right thing,” Liu said.
As Yaung’s former superior officer, Chan said Yaung’s new appointment was “the right post for the right person.”
“He is an expert in public health. We need a guy like him in the fight against swine flu,” Chan said.
Many of Yaung’s friends and former coworkers said he was a “person with good communication abilities.”
DOH officials also felt his charm on his first day on the job.
“He is a nice guy,” a senior official at the DOH said on condition of anonymity. “I’ve never seen him angry — and I’ve known him since he was deputy minister several years ago. He was always patient when explaining things.”
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS