Blue and White strongly recommends free health insurance for the elderly. Shi Chongliang: It greatly increases the pressure to raise health insurance premiums.

The Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan reviewed the supplementary budget of the central government's general budget for the 115th year of the Republic of China on the 5th. Minister of Health and Welfare Shi Chongliang was present. (Photo taken by reporter Fang Bin)

Blue and White legislators took advantage of their numerical advantage to amend the "Elderly Welfare Law" in the third reading, explicitly stipulating that the central government subsidize the full health insurance premiums for the elderly whose income tax rate does not reach 20%. Later, media reported that Minister of Health and Welfare Shi Chongliang sent a message across the ocean to mobilize medical and social welfare groups to oppose the amendment. Shi Chongliang emphasized today (5th) that it is his responsibility to maintain the sustainability of the national health insurance system. The budget investment required after the amendment of the law will inevitably have a crowding out effect, greatly increasing the pressure to increase health insurance premiums. He called on all walks of life to jointly support the improvement of the health insurance system. "I am very worried."

Seven committees of the Legislative Yuan, including finance, social welfare, and sanitation, held a joint meeting today to review the 2015 supplementary budget proposal for the central government's general budget. Shi Chongliang attended the meeting and accepted a joint interview with the media before the meeting.

In response to the impact of the amendment to the "Old Welfare Law", Shi Chongliang said that national health insurance is the greatest asset of the Chinese people. In the past three years, the Executive Yuan has injected a total of 80 billion yuan into the health insurance fund, so that health insurance does not need to increase premiums when medical needs increase and the total amount grows at a high rate of 5.5% per year. However, after the passage of the "Old Welfare Law", it will inevitably crowd out related finances and greatly increase the pressure to increase health insurance premiums in the future.

Regarding the free health insurance policy for the elderly proposed by many DPP county and city chief candidates, Shi Chongliang responded that the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and Welfare is to maintain the overall health insurance system from damage so that it can develop stably in the long term. Local governments make adjustments based on their own financial resources and set policy goals to promote various welfare measures. This is the spirit of local autonomy, and "of course we will respect it."

The media are also concerned about the dispute between Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lu Jiande and Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Shijian yesterday over the calculation of the "poverty line". Shi Chongliang explained that the poverty line statistical standards adopted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare are the same as those of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but this is not completely consistent with the subsidy standards of various social welfare policies, such as some elderly welfare subsidies or disadvantaged allowances. Even if the target's income is higher than the poverty line, the government will still provide subsidies; everyone's words during the discussion were not completely consistent, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare will strengthen external explanations in the future.