Health Minister Lin Tzou-Yien says the Cabinet is likely to pass an amendment to Taiwan’s long-term health care bill on Thursday. He said the new amendment would generate a budget by increasing the inheritance and cigarette tax. It would also pave the way for what’s being called Long-Term Care 2.0 to begin on January 1, 2017.
The new program would involve the establishment of 469 integrated community service centers, 829 daily care centers for the elderly, and 2,529 neighborhood care stations.
Lin says the Cabinet has yet to decide on how much it will increase the cigarette tax, but reports say that the tax increase is likely to generate about NT$5-10 (US$0.16-0.32) for long-term care.
Meanwhile, health official Chien Hui-jiuan says that there will be a shortage of between five and ten thousand caregivers. She said that the ministry will look to fill the gap by hiring new immigrants and workers who are older. There are also plans to attract younger workers and people with related educational background by increasing salaries. She said the goal was to raise the monthly salary to NT$30,000 (about US$950 per month), and the hourly wages to between NT$220 and NT$250 (US$7-8 per hour).