The government is to discuss preventing long-term expatriates who have suspended their National Health Insurance (NHI) from immediately resuming coverage upon returning to Taiwan, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) said on Tuesday.
An administration meeting on Friday is to cover copayments for medical services under the NHI system, rules for overseas Taiwanese seeking medical treatment and an increase to the highest NHI premium band, NHIA Director-General Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) said.
Lee’s statements came after Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said in a media interview that the administration would this year raise drug prices and adjust the copayment system for healthcare services covered by the NHI system, such as physical examinations and health checks.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Liberty Times
Once the new policies take effect, about NT$12 billion (US$430 million) in annual revenue is expected to be generated for the national healthcare system, Lee said.
Among the most controversial issues is an NHI regulation that allows Taiwanese who plan to stay overseas for more than six months to suspend their NHI and then temporarily resume coverage by paying a small premium after returning to Taiwan.
Department of Social Insurance Director Shang Tung-fu (商東福) said on Tuesday that the issue of fairness in granting overseas Taiwanese access to healthcare services is complicated, but a consensus has been reached on one of two proposals: The first would place a complete ban on overseas Taiwanese who suspend NHI coverage, while the second would make an exception for government personnel sent abroad and crew members of ocean vessels.
The administration could generate about NT$2.6 billion in annual revenue by implementing the proposals, Shang said.
The government also plans to raise the highest NHI premium band, which is now NT$182,000, Shang said, adding that it was last adjusted 12 years ago.
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
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
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
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