“Raising premiums will affect the competitiveness of the nation’s businesses,” said Chang Pen-Tsao, chairman of the General Chamber of Commerce of the Republic of China.
The current structure of the NHI calls for employers, employees and the government to jointly share premium costs with a 6:3:1 ratio.
The nations’ business would have much less of a problem with the hikes if the ratio could be adjusted to 5:3:2, said the trade associations in a joint statement.
If a business is running a deficit, it tries to fix the situation by increasing revenues and cutting costs, noted Chen Wu-hsiung, chairman of the Chinese National Federation of Industries. But when the NHI is running a deficit, it is only asking businesses to pay more, Chen continued.
The government did not even bother consulting with businesses before raising premium costs, he said.
Preliminary estimates are that businesses will have to pay NT$23.4 billion (US$733 million) more per year as a result of the premium increase, Chen said. If the ratio can be adjusted downward, the burden would be NT$4 billion less per year.
Labor costs in Taiwan are already higher than those in other neighboring countries, said Theodore M.H. Huang, chairman of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce. Not only are health and labor insurance premiums being increased, now there is also talk of lengthier maternity leave times, creating long-term care insurance and so on.
All these policies are being promoted within a short period of time. Businesses have barely recovered from the recession, and if such policies become unbearable, businesses will have no choice but to lay off employees or move to other countries, Huang said.
He suggested that there needs to be a review of the whole NHI system. Costs can be saved by cutting back on medical waste, pharmaceutical expenses and fraud. The government can also seek to increase revenue by adding applications such as debit card functions, to the Insurance ID card.
The wishes of the six associations and their recommendations can be considered during future policy meetings, said Cheng Shou-hsia, director-general of the Bureau of National Health Insurance under the Department of Health.
Cheng added that the laws would have to be amended if contribution ratios are to be adjusted. When the second generation of the NHI is being discussed, these issues can all be discussed jointly.
At the same time Cheng thanked the nation’s businesses for their support of NHI, which has enabled their employees and their families to have access to medical care. Businesses have fulfilled their social obligations and have helped to establish a viable safety net for the nation, said Cheng.
Former Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan noted that the contribution made by the business sector to health insurance is far lower than in the U.S. and mainland China. American businesses pay at least 10 times as much, said Yeh. Even mainland Chinese businesses pay more than Taiwanese ones, he added.
A draft proposal for the second generation of NHI was sent to the Legislature in 2006. It was resubmitted in 2008 after legislative elections, but has since been languishing in the Legislative Yuan.
With the recent discussions over premiums, it seems likely that the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Health will make further changes to the bill, and resubmit it to the Legislative Yuan this session. (HZW)