Blue and White accuses President Lai of double standards for elderly health insurance premiums. Government: Pingtung County Government has no debt

President Lai Ching-te today (17th) campaigned for Pingtung County Mayor Zhou Chunmi, affirming Zhou Chunmi’s plan to exempt people over 65 from health insurance premiums. However, People’s Party Chairman Huang Guochang and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wanan questioned the double standard. In this regard, Executive Yuan spokesperson Li Huizhi said that it was a pity that President Lai's statement was taken out of context. The key point is that the Pingtung County Government promotes welfare but does not raise debt.

Li Huizhi said that to restore the president's speech, she first reviewed the welfare policies such as Zhou Chunmi's child nutrition allowance, fresh milk for every student, and free health insurance premiums for those over 65 years old, and there was no debt. This is also the consistent three-principle position of the central government: no borrowing, no exclusion of other policies, and legality and constitutionality.

Li Huizhi pointed out that the Pingtung County case proves that local governments adhere to financial discipline and exercise their administrative powers when they have sufficient financial resources and do not exclude other policies. However, the "Elderly Welfare Law" passed by the Legislative Yuan on the third reading yesterday will increase by nearly 40 billion yuan in one year, and will exceed 62.8 billion yuan by 2049. With the advent of a super-aging society, if there is a lack of overall fiscal considerations, it will inevitably impact fiscal discipline and crowd out other policy plans.

Li Huizhi emphasized that the central and local governments should divide their labor and cooperate, and take care of the elderly and implement intergenerational justice. The central government builds the elderly medical system and long-term care system, while local governments expand care according to local conditions based on financial capabilities and local needs. Only in this way can we realize the sustainability of the health insurance system that allows for payment according to capacity, mutual assistance and mutual benefit, and risk sharing.

Li Huizhi pointed out that there should be a constitutional separation between administration and legislation. The Constitution clearly stipulates that the Executive Yuan prepares the budget and the Legislative Yuan reviews the budget; and Article 70 of the Constitution stipulates that the Legislative Yuan shall not propose additional expenditures in relation to the budget proposed by the Executive Yuan. At the same time, Article 91 of the Budget Law also stipulates that if a bill proposed by a legislator significantly increases annual expenditures or reduces annual revenues, the Executive Yuan should be consulted first. When local governments increase the welfare of the elderly, the county and city governments prepare budgets and submit them to the county and city councils for review. If this is the case at the local level, the central government should also abide by the law and the constitution.