Taiwan's health insurance system stirs up political storm
By Channel NewsAsia's Taiwan Correspondent Christina Lo | Posted: 11 March 2010 0018 hrs

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TAIPEI: Taiwan's health insurance system may have earned international acknowledgement, but it's now stirring up a political storm after the health minister left in a surprise resignation.

And ironically, opinion polls have put Mr Yaung Chih-liang as one of the most popular members of President Ma Ying-jeou's administration.

Taiwan's premier has rejected the resignation not once, but twice.

But Taiwan's former health minister Yaung is equally determined to step down.

In a statement to the media, Yaung blamed the frequency of elections for a lot of problems in Taiwan.

He said politicians were only concerned about losing votes, and this has stop them from making necessary changes which may not be popular.

Yaung had proposed higher premiums for 41 percent of the population to help reduce the budget deficit at the health insurance bureau.

But Premier Wu Den-yih only wanted 25 percent of its people to pay more.

The contradiction has again raised questions about President Ma's weak and inconsistent leadership.

Analysts said it was inevitable that public policies are influenced by electoral consequences.

Hu Chong-Hsin, Senior Political Analyst, said: "You can't say the Ma administration is weak on this, as premium hikes are very likely to affect elections. The KMT lost one million votes last December, it can't afford another one million losses. In that case, the KMT and the DPP will compete on a 50-to-50 basis. It's critical and out of Yaung's consideration."

But Yaung has his supporters too.

The latest poll shows that he has won high approval ratings, with some 50 percent of Taiwanese backing his performance.

But still, about 60 percent of Taiwanese say they don't support insurance premium hikes.

Hu Chong-Hsin added: "When professionalism collide with politics, there must be conflicts, especially when it involves the fate of one political party. It's obvious that the government favours Premier Wu's proposal.

"(Ma) takes great advantage when elected. But a year-and-a-half later, why does his approval rating dropped so fast? Of course it has something to do with his leadership. But when it comes to oil, electricity price that affect people's livelihood, every leader is always cautious and dare not take false steps."

According to Taiwan's Bureau of National Health Insurance, it will record a deficit of more than US$3 billion this year if nothing is done to address the shortfall.

The Ma administration is facing a dilemma now. It has to balance public opinion and electoral support on one hand, and the survival of the health insurance scheme on the other.

Observers say there is no easy way out, and the government will have to decide soon. - CNA/de