Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers yesterday called for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration to suspend the implementation of the second-generation National Health Insurance (NHI) premium, saying that it is flawed, and instead urged the government to amend related regulations if necessary.
The mechanism, designed to generate revenue for the financially-stricken NHI, would not achieve its NT$23.6 billion (US$805 million) goal, DPP lawmakers Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如), Liu Chien-kuo (劉建國) and Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) told a press conference.
With 90 days to go before the levy is scheduled for implementation, there are a number of major problems with the controversial supplementary premiums mechanism, Chen Chieh-ju said.
The supplementary premiums — which were added to the proposed new NHI program after the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法) was amended — targets different groups with differing incomes.
The Department of Health had previously proposed that those insured would have to pay a 2 percent premium on any additional income over NT$2,000. That threshold was later raised to NT$5,000.
However, the definition of “bonus” has been vague and it is believed that both insured parties and employers are likely to search for legal loopholes by splitting their savings accounts or listing their bonuses as a separate source of income, Chen Chieh-ju said.
The mechanism could also allow for the abuse of the socially vulnerable, including those who have to work part-time, because under the new system they would have to pay a 2 percent premium on every paycheck, she added.
The premium rates for full-time and part-time workers in the same profession within the new system are different and this amounts to a violation of the principle of fairness as protected by the Constitution, she said.
“The DPP caucus calls for the suspension of the implementation, a thorough review of the mechanism and an amendment of the law if necessary,” she said.
Liu said the complicated mechanism would make collecting premiums a difficult task.
Liu added that if the regular premium rates, which still remain undecided, were reduced from 5.17 percent to 4.91 percent — a tactic to avoid public anger — the NHI is likely to face financial difficulties again in 2016, when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is no longer in office.
The DPP has always supported scrapping the supplementary premiums mechanism and instead has argued for a premium to be charged based on household income, Chen Ou-po said, adding that raising regular premium rates would be another option.
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS