《TAIPEI TIMES》NHI exemptions may harm system: minister

Health and Welfare Minister Shi Chongliang said yesterday that a revised law that would exempt most elderly people from paying National Health Insurance (NHI) premiums could harm the sustainability of the system and push up premiums.

The Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of the amendment to the Elderly Welfare Act on October 16. The bill fully subsidizes the national health insurance premiums of people aged 65 and above with an income tax rate below 20%, and is expected to cover approximately 83% of the elderly population.

The amendment was proposed by the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party caucus, but the Executive Yuan, Democratic Progressive Party legislators and more than a dozen medical associations have repeatedly expressed concerns about it.

Since the bill was officially delivered to the Executive Yuan on October 28, the Executive Yuan must sign or veto it within 10 days. Today is the last day of the deadline. The Executive Yuan is expected to refuse to sign the bill today.

Several major medical associations issued statements opposing the bill on Tuesday and Wednesday, urging the Legislative Yuan and Cabinet to consult with stakeholders, the medical community and academics and hold public hearings before enacting the bill.

However, a local Chinese-language newspaper reported on Wednesday afternoon that Shi Chongliang, who was in the United States at the time, allegedly sent text messages to medical and social welfare groups asking them to speak out against the bill.

The report, citing anonymous sources, said the minister sent them the briefing on Tuesday.

The group does not want to become "electoral executioners," the report quoted another source as saying.

When asked about the report, Shi Chongliang said that the national health insurance is one of the people's greatest assets and it is his responsibility to maintain its sustainability.

The amendment will inevitably crowd out other spending and put huge pressure on the department to increase NHS premiums, he said.

Over the past three years, the Executive Yuan has injected NT$80 billion (US$2.43 billion) into the National Health Insurance Fund, keeping premium rates stable amid growing medical needs and a 5.5% annual expansion in total expenditures, Shih said.

"I am deeply concerned and hope we can all work together to support the integrity of the NHS," he said.

Several medical association members said they had not received the text messages, adding that the medical community could independently comment on the issue.

Chen Xiangguo, president of the Taiwan Medical Association, said that he had not received such a text message, nor had he seen the text message mentioned in the report, and that the association's position had nothing to do with Shi Chongliang.

Additional reporting by Lin Zhiyi