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Ma backs health minister staying in job

President Ma Ying-jeou supports Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang's reform plan for the nation's health insurance system. (CNA)

• Publication Date：03/10/2010
• Source： China Times

President Ma Ying-jeou approves of the general direction of Minister of Health Yaung Chih-liang’s drive to reform the national health insurance system, the Presidential Office spokesman said March 9.

Speaking just two days after the health minister’s sudden decision to tender his resignation, Lo Chih-chiang said the president supports Premier Wu Den-yih’s efforts to try to retain Yaung in his post.

According to sources, Ma phoned Yaung the morning of March 9 to express his affirmation of his efforts and to ask him to continue serving as health minister. He reportedly expressed hope to Yaung that he be “patient” and stay to oversee the health reform process “for the country.”

Speaking at a Kuomintang meeting the same day, Ma stated that the crux of the issue concerning the planned health insurance premium hike is that implementing a system based on different rates for different income levels requires law revisions by the Legislative Yuan. The president urged the KMT legislative caucus to study and actively push for relevant revisions as soon as possible.

Officials said members of the Department of Health task force on health insurance premiums could continue to discuss possible rate hikes and come up with a proposal that is acceptable to both the Executive Yuan and the Legislative Yuan.

Chu Tong-kuang, deputy convener of the task force, said March 9 that Wu’s instructions indicate that the premier is of the position that the fewer people affected by the planned hike, the better. However, he continued, it is not imperative that the target of 75 percent of the population not having their premiums hiked be met.

In principle, Chu went on, the planned health insurance premium adjustment is currently leaning in the direction of the Executive Yuan’s goal. Calculations are being carried out on two versions of the proposed adjustment—one in which premiums are based on income levels and one in which rates are the same for all citizens, he added.

Cheng Shou-hsia, director-general of the Bureau of National Health Insurance, claimed that achieving the Executive Yuan’s goal under a single-rate system would be difficult, unless the government’s share of the burden of health premiums were to be raised to 39 percent from the current 30 percent, he said. However, doing so would also require revisions to the law, and the sources of additional funding should be identified, he pointed out.

According to BNHI statistics, the health insurance system’s revenues have been negatively impacted over the last two years by the global financial tsunami. Last year, revenue generated from health insurance premium only grew NT$1.1 billion (US$34.54 million). Taking the contribution from cigarette surcharges into account, the system’s total revenues in 2009 only inched up 0.17 percent, while expenditures jumped by 4.56 percent.

Cheng said if health insurance premiums are adjusted upward according to the DOH’s plan, the additional revenue will only cover the system’s expected shortfall of NT$45 billion for this year. He urged that the system’s debt not be passed on to the next generation.

Noting that expenditures are growing by between NT$2 billion and NT$3 billion each month, Cheng said, “The longer that health insurance premium adjustments are put off, the bigger the hole that needs to be filled.”

The bureau head said the planned premium adjustment is aimed at establishing a health insurance system that can maintain balanced finances over the long term. (SB)