Legal Insurance Information No. (237)
Yesterday, the Director General of Social Security proposed increasing taxes on tobacco products for the benefit of social health insurance, a plan the Social Security Corporation intends to implement. It appears to still be stalling, looking for funding.
When we discussed the need to carefully develop a robust social health insurance system, the intention was for the cost of this insurance to be carefully studied and for all concerned parties, including the government, employers, and workers, to contribute to its burden, rather than for the cost to be borne by the insured and the Social Security Corporation alone.
Every time, the Social Security Director gives us a different statement on this topic. His fifth promise was to implement health insurance during the first quarter of this year. And here we are in the final days of this quarter. Will Social Security be able to begin implementing social health insurance during the remaining two days of this month?
The Social Security Directorate's proposal to increase taxes on tobacco products and transfer them to the health insurance fund is a clear indication that the system, which was announced months ago as being soon to be submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval, was not only incomplete, but also not based on a genuine study. It was merely a rash, hasty interpretation of a very important and serious matter, one that has no benefit in rushing about. It seems the project is currently facing funding and solution-related pitfalls.