The amendment to the National Health Insurance Act has failed to pass the third reading yesterday with both the ruling and the opposition parties unable to reach a consensus on the issue. Even the KMT legislators are hesitant to support the Department of Health's proposal of raising the fee for some, out of worries that it may trigger public opposition, while causing negative impacts on the legislative and presidential elections in 2012.

Legislators had been scheduled to complete the third reading of second-generation health insurance reforms on Tuesday, but the second reading for just one of 106 articles was completed by the end of the day.

It remains to be seen when the rest of the articles, which includes a new controversial fee scale, "presumed" income standards for those without income, and minimum and maximum premiums, will be passed.

The DPP opposes the entire draft, and some KMT legislators are reluctantly siding with their pan-green counterparts.

The presence of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang and Vice Premier Sean Chen at the proceedings failed to help lawmakers reach a consensus, and many legislators acknowledged that their top consideration was how their vote would affect their chances of getting re-elected in 2012.

The KMT's legislative caucus has already sent the Cabinet's fee scale proposal back to the Department of Health for revision, while DPP lawmakers are calling for minors to be excluded from premium calculations and opposing presumed income standards and the inclusion of agricultural and fishery income in calculations.

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