Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung, who has been enjoying high approval ratings for his role in leading Taiwan’s pandemic containment effort, recently proposed to raise National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums while saying that the NHI’s safety reserve could dip below what is required to fund 1.5 months of expenditures. Minister Chen said that the government will begin communicating with the public about the necessity of raising NHI premiums in a bid to gain consensus on the proposal.

Minister Chen’s proposal has since sparked discussions among stakeholders and prompted questions by the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, which held a briefing on the matter with health ministry officials. Legislators including the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s Chuang Ching-cheng, the Kuomintang’s Hsu Chih-jung and New Power Party’s Claire Wang have expressed concerns about the proposal. Legislators said that increasing revenue contribution from copayments is not a panacea that will resolve challenges faced by the NHI, expressing worries that the proposal to raise NHI premiums could fall through, with changes to the NHI system limited to higher copayments for patients. Legislators also said that to prevent an erosion of public trust, the government should refrain from publicizing proposed policy changes when plans are still in its early stages.

On the matter, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan said that the proposal to raise revenue contribution from copayments is aimed at containing wastage, while the proposal to raise NHI premiums is meant to bolster the system’s financial resilience. Deputy Minister Hsueh said that the current proposed policy change is centered on raising NHI premiums and promised to reexamine the NHI’s reimbursement scheme including instruction drugs. The government will also strengthen public health education and hold expert meetings to explore areas where policy changes are feasible.

[2020-05-25 / United Daily News]