Farmers' occupational disaster insurance trial "injury before disease", how to do chronic occupational disease? Legislators call for accelerated integration

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It was only six months ago that farmers' occupational disaster insurance was formally finalized in the Executive Yuan. It will be offered on a trial basis with a monthly insurance amount of 10200 yuan and a premium rate of 0.23%, giving priority to promoting "agricultural occupational injury" insurance. However, the principle of "injury before disease" (injury refers to "occupational injury" and disease refers to "chronic occupational disease") has encountered many challenges at the Committee on Social Welfare, Health and Environment of the Legislative Yuan today. Many legislators believe that farmers often suffer from chronic occupational diseases, and the relevant clear identification standards need to be further established.

The cause and effect of "occupational injury" is relatively clear, and priority should be given to the establishment of occupational injury.

At present, farmers' health insurance only has three payment items: birth benefit, physical and mental disability benefit, and funeral allowance; after farmers' occupational disaster insurance is on the road in the future, new items such as injury benefit, disability benefit, death benefit and medical benefit will be added, and priority will be given to "injury before disease", and priority will be given to "occupational injury" occupational disasters with a relatively clear causal relationship.

Chen Jizhong, vice chairman of the Council of Agriculture, said that it is now expected to try out occupational disaster insurance for farmers by the end of the year, adopting the method of "voluntary acceptance of insurance." as long as 1.16 million farmers with the status of agricultural insurance are eligible to take out insurance, it is now planned to run a trial for three to five years, waiting for the trial period to expire. We will promote it in an all-round way, and we will not rule out compulsory insurance.

Legislator: agricultural "occupational disease" is not protected.

At present, the Council of Agriculture plans to identify farmers' occupational disasters by "injury before illness," but Kuomintang legislator Hsu Shu-Hua questions that in the Occupational Safety and Health Law, occupational injury and occupational diseases are clearly included. "if there is no occupational disease payment, can it be called agricultural occupational insurance?"

Wang Yumin, a legislator of the Kuomintang, further pointed out that according to the current data of the Labor Insurance Bureau, from 2005 to 2016, the payment for occupational disasters in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fishing and animal husbandry was very low. "there were only 123 cases of occupational diseases." In other words, there are only ten payment cases a year on average. "is it because farmers do not have occupational diseases?" Or is it that the identification of occupational diseases is so strict that farmers do not get due payment? "

Tsai Pei-hui, a legislator from the Democratic Progressive Party, also said that occupational injuries are often short-term and immediate injuries, but for farmers, the most serious occupational disaster may be "occupational diseases." but it is indeed difficult to identify occupational diseases in farming. "Old farmers are injured in the elbow, and some are presumed to be old."

At present, the Council of Agriculture intends to try out occupational disaster insurance for farmers, but Wang Yumin believes that there may be more cases of chronic occupational injury than acute occupational injury. In particular, when farmers use pesticides for a long time, they may accumulate slowly and cause liver disease. "will this be included in the occupational disaster payment program when farmers offer occupational disaster insurance in the future?"

(left) KMT legislator Jiang Wanan (right) Chen Jizhong, vice chairman of the Council of Agriculture

The political Yuan decided that the occupational disaster insurance for farmers was officially launched in November, with a monthly payment of 14.4 yuan, including four medical benefits for injuries and diseases.

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