Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Opposition Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) 2024 presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (???) on Thursday said he would seek to quadruple spending on long-term care in Taiwan to 1 percent of GDP using funding from a new co-payment system.
Ko unveiled the policy alongside a pledge to conditionally raise monthly skilled care facility subsidies from NT$10,000 to NT$30,000 (US$311 to US$932) per person at a news conference further outlining his health care platform, which has been the focus of the TPP candidate’s campaign in September.
According to Ko, government statistics show Taiwan spent NT$56.3 billion, or 0.25 percent of GDP, on long-term care in 2022, which the TPP candidate said was well below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 1.7 percent of GDP.
The latest figures released by the OECD show that member states spent an average of 1.5 percent of GDP on long-term care in 2019.
The former Taipei mayor recommended establishing a “central long-term care insurance bureau” and an accompanying co-payment system similar to the one used to fund Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) system.
Under the proposed system, the co-payments shouldered by the government, employers, and employees would be 40 percent, 30 percent, and 30 percent respectively, which would translate to employees paying just about 20-25 percent of their NHI copayments each month, Ko said.
With sufficient funding, Ko said, households that have already hired caregivers and are thus excluded from long-term care services under the government’s current policy may also apply to enjoy long-term care services such as domestic and nighttime care.
The increased funding would also improve the working conditions for caregivers, which in turn would alleviate a workforce shortage in the sector and improve the quality of care services, according to Ko.
That would in turn ease the workload of domestic caregivers and enable them to have more time off as respite care would become more readily available, Ko added.
Sept. 21: DPP nominee Lai vows to slash cancer deaths
Sept. 14: Taiwan to raise social welfare allowances, pension payouts for farmers
Sept. 6: Taiwan should increase healthcare spending to 8% of GDP: TPP’s Ko
Sept. 5: KMT presidential contender vows expansion of free health insurance for elderly
