A proposal by medical groups to allocate NT$24.7 billion (US$775.6 million) to fund the National Health Insurance (NHI) system and boost the NHI point value is not feasible, as it exceeds the amount available for negotiations, estimated at NT$17.4 billion, National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday.
Negotiations on apportioning the NHI global budget of more than NT$900 billion for next year were held on Wednesday, attended by premium payer representatives, medical groups and NHIA personnel.
The NHI global budget next year could range between NT$928.6 billion — an increase of NT$53 billion from this year — assuming a growth rate of 5.5 percent, and NT$911.2 billion, based on a growth rate of 3.521 percent, Shih told reporters.
Photo: Taipei Times
The NT$17.4 billion difference between the high and low end of the forecast range is the negotiable amount from next year’s budget for hospitals, primary Western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and dentistry, he said.
Negotiations with premium payer representatives would break down if the figure proposed by medical representatives exceeds the negotiable amount, Shih added.
Taiwan Hospital Association chairperson Lee Fei-peng (李飛鵬) said in statement that the proposed NT$24.7 billion could increase the point value and fund NHI payments for basic diagnosis and treatment, including nursing and dispensing fees.
The figure was proposed to balance the books and provide reasonable wages for medical practitioners, as the point value stipulated by current NHI payment standards lacks cost analysis and does not reflect the sharp rise in commodity prices, he said.
Meanwhile, medical representatives said the budget for treatment and medications for rare diseases, HIV infection and hepatitis C infection should be excluded from the NHI global budget and funded instead by the central government budget in accordance with the Rare Disease and Orphan Drug Act (罕見疾病防治及藥物法) and other regulations.
The Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders criticized the medical sector’s proposal, saying that Article 33 of the act specifies that the central government’s budget would only subsidize diagnosis, treatment and medications for rare diseases that are “not covered by the National Health Insurance Act (全民健康保險法).”
Nearly 17,000 patients with rare diseases would be affected if they are excluded from the NHI payment system, it said in a statement.
The NHI global budget for this year includes more than NT$10 billion for rare diseases. and it would continue to increase next year with an addition of NT$2 billion funded by the Executive Yuan’s budget, Shih said, promising that rare diseases would not be removed from the NHI global budget.
Premium payer representatives questioned the inclusion of cancer screening fees of nearly NT$3.5 billion into next year’s global budget, which it said should be covered by the Health Promotion Administration.
Shih replied that new cancer cases would increase next year as free cancer screening has been expanded to include more people, so the budget for treatment and medications must be increased for the new cases.
While this could result in a short-term surge, expenditure from treating severe cases would significantly decline over the longer term, he said.
Shih added that NHI premiums would not rise next year, despite increases in dispensing and other fees as the global budget would be enough to cover the extra amount.
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
As Taiwan celebrated its baseball team’s victory in the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12 on Sunday, how politicians referred to the team in their congratulatory messages reflected the nation’s political divide. Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北隊), made history with its first-ever Premier12 championship after beating Japan 4-0 at the Tokyo Dome. Right after the game, President William Lai (賴清德) congratulated the team via a post on his Facebook page. Besides the players, Lai also lauded the team’s coaching and medical staff, and the fans cheering for them in Tokyo or watching the live broadcast, saying that “every
RSS