The Department of Health resubmitted its second-generation National Health Insurance plan to the Legislature Dec. 16, hoping that changes in the way premiums are calculated will ease lawmakers’ concerns.
According to the DOH, additional sources of income such as interest, share dividends, professional practice fees and bonuses four times in excess of monthly salary, will now be included with regular wages when calculating an individual’s health premium.
The plan also sets premium rates for additional and regular income at 2 percent and 5.17 percent, respectively. But the DOH has indicated there could be some wiggle room on the regular rate
Kuomintang Legislator Lin Tsang-min said the guiding principle of the new premium scheme is that those who earn more should also pay more.
“The revisions will most likely affect people of affluence, such as entertainment industry celebrities, models, physicians and stock market investors,” he said.
But civic groups such as the National Health Insurance Civil Surveillance Alliance have expressed concern over the new plan, claiming that it may threaten employee salaries and conditions.
“Given the lower health premium rate for additional income, employers may be tempted to pay regular wages as bonuses in order to save money,” alliance spokeswoman Eva Teng said. “This hurts employees and does not address the current NHI system’s funding shortfall.” (JSM)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw