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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 NHIA mulls premium rate changes after inauguration
National Health Insurance Administration Director-General Shih Chung-liang speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Tuesday. Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
By Lin Chih-yi, LIn Hui-chin and Jake Chung / Staff reporters, with staff writer
The National Health Insurance Administration （NHIA） is considering whether to fine-tune the National Health Insurance （NHI） program’s supplementary premium rates after the inauguration on Monday next week, NHI Director-General Shih Chung-liang （石崇良） said yesterday.
The agency is considering measures to increase its funding pool, because demand is growing for the NHI to guarantee that the base value of its point systems is equivalent to NT$1, Shih said.
The program would keep standard and supplementary premium rates separate, with standard rates set at 4.91 percent and supplementary rates at 2 percent, he said.
However, as there is a significant discrepancy between the two rates, the NHIA is considering adjusting the supplementary NHI rates to ensure fairness, he added.
Some items would increase, while others would decrease, Shih said.
People who have significant capital gains should at least pay the standard premium rate, he said.
The NHIA is also considering whether to raise the base premium rate for additional premium costs for people receiving bonuses on top of their salaries, he said.
However, the NHIA would not change the rates until after the inauguration, he added.
Separately, people requiring a biliary metal stent, also known as a bile duct stent, would qualify for an NHI payout from next month. The policy is expected to benefit 4,000 people with bile duct cancer every year.
Metal stents alleviate malignant obstruction of the biliary tract for people with pancreatic cancer, bile duct cancer and gallbladder cancer, NHIA Medical Review and Pharmaceutical Benefits Division Deputy Director Chang Hui-ping （張惠萍） said.
They keep clogged bile ducts open longer than plastic stents, and reduce the possibility of having to repeat the surgery, she said.
On the NHI’s Medical Materials Cost Comparison Web site, metal biliary stents cost about NT$40,000 to NT$60,000 out of pocket.
The NHIA would continue to request more funding to provide materials and components that have been tested and are needed for clinical purposes to reduce the economic burden on the public, Shih said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
